“This year’s walk is going to be so special”
Sophia Brown founded Bristol’s Steppin Sistas group in April 2021
A group set up to encourage Black women in Bristol to enjoy the countryside will stage a walk around the streets of St Pauls.
The Steppin’ Sistas was set up in Covid times back in the spring of 2021 to promote an interest in walking and open spaces, and now holds dozens of walks every year around the West Country and beyond.
The group, founded and led by Sophia Brown, has won awards for its work to bring together Black women in Bristol to explore the benefits of exercise and nature.
Later this month, the group will hold a walk that will be close to their hearts. The Windrush Walk will take place around St Pauls, on Windrush Day on June 22. Sophia said the event will be a celebration and a commemoration, followed by a party in St Agnes Park.
Sophia organised the first Windrush Walk two years ago, and it has grown into a larger event each year since. “I decided to organise a Windrush Walk in honour of our elders here and in spirit, to remember how hard they worked for us and suffered hugely, to bring us up with protection and love,” she said.
“I remember my mother walking three miles to work everyday in all weathers, including snow, with some little leather sandals and socks – she was a nurse working nights, my uncle was our child minder.
“The Windrush Generation as they made sacrifices serving and rebuilding the country after World War Two – they faced huge barriers to accessing services, housing and work and the impact they had in building this country is too often underplayed or forgotten,” she added.
“Since the first Windrush Walk we have walked every year, and it seems to have grown. This year’s walk is going to be so special, as it’s more inclusive. All are welcome, and children must be accompanied by an adult,” she added.
Sophia Brown founded Bristol’s Steppin Sistas group in April 2021, to encourage and help women of colour in Bristol get out into the countryside in a walking group(Image: Steppin Sistas)
This year’s Windrush Walk starts in Portland Square, with people gathering from 12.30pm on June 22 for a 1pm start. The walk will take around an hour and end at St Agnes Park, with celebrations and a party in the park.
“There is no pressure to do the walk, you can always join in the celebrations at St Agnes Park, with activities for children. St Agnes Church will be a big part of the event by allowing us to use the church hall for a rest and social chat area for the elderly with free refreshments,” Sophia added.
Since the group started it has flourished and a ‘Steppin Bruddas’ group has started for men with similar aims.
“The aim is to help motivate women of colour to visit places they would not have ventured to, including rural areas around Bristol and further afield in the South West,” explained Sophia.
Bristol Steppin Sistas visit Exmoor Credit Exmoor National Park Authority
“There has been a reluctance for women of colour to venture in unfamiliar spaces where they feel exposed, judged, and remarked on. This has led to our staying in our lanes.
“We want to encourage women to step across these boundaries and push their limits, to do this in the safety and company of others who share similar experiences of discrimination and disadvantage.
“We want to enable the activity of walking to be uplifting and enriching to the lives of women of colour of all abilities, to present walking as opportunities to engage in conversation, creative reflection, enjoyment of nature, appreciation of new environments and fundamentally to help address issues of mental health which have been prevalently on the increase,” she added.