Sue Hunter, a black woman of mixed heritage born in 1960; has lived and worked in Leicester City all her life. She became political in her teens, when she and her black and Asian community were facing injustice daily. Her mum, a white Irish woman introduced her and her siblings to the civil rights Leaders by reading and collecting information. Sue remembers Sunday evenings, all bathed and ready for school the next day and her mum telling them about Rosa Parkes, Martin Luther king Jnr, Malcom X, the black power movement, and the person Sue identified with most, Angela Davis.
After finishing school, Sue’s passion was to study law; however she was steered towards Community and Management. This enabled her to work closely with her communities and to make change.
In 2015, Sue took early retirement, however not for long as she was then successful in being voted in as a Leicester city councillor, which has enabled her to continue to work even more closely with the community.
1) Which place, or city or country do you most feel at home in?
Leicester, I love visiting other countries and experiencing different cultures, but Leicester is home.
2) What are your proudest achievements?
Apart from my children and grandchildren and paying off my mortgage, it has to be becoming a Leicester councillor and that the community actually voted for me.
3) What inspires you?
When I see black people making good, although they have the toughest time doing so, when that happens I smile inside and out. That’s how I felt when Barack Obama became president.
4) What has been biggest obstacle in your career?
Being a black women working in Local Authority, and having to prove myself 100% more than my white counterparts.
5) Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?
Those that never gave up the fight, those that continued to make change, and those that still are. And my family, who have given me the strength to continue for them and hope represent a good role model to influence them.
6) What is the best aspect about your current role?
Supporting the community, getting things done, and making a difference.
7) And the worst?
The Tory government, the massive cuts placed on Local Authorities, making it impossible to provide adequate services to the population. I could easily list them but I’m sure everybody knows this.
8) What are your long term goals?
To hopefully continue to serve my community as a councillor and to hopefully make change for the better.
9) If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change?
Policy, procedure and systems. Bring them up to date, and defiantly some Ministers.
10) If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why.
This is very easy. Barack Obama as we are from very similar backgrounds. It would be very interesting to see if he faced a lot of the same issues growing up and now.
Not to mention he is a pretty cool dude.
