Avtar Singh Matharu: ‘Being a visible role model is really important’

I was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and I am the youngest of five. My family moved to Zambia and then again, when I was six, we moved en masse to Leicester in the UK in the 1970s.

I faced a lot of challenges with racism, purely because of the way I look. Growing up in that period meant making new friends, learning and seeing obstacles. And at that time, not knowing how to navigate those obstacles, apart from just keeping your head down and staying out of trouble.