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C J Smith is a Romany Gypsy, activist, and advocate for Gypsy and Traveller rights. With over 30 years of experience in the learning disability care sector, Chris has managed multiple care services for adults with learning difficulties, but his impact goes beyond social care.Alongside his work in social care, Chris has been an Independent Advisor and Gypsy and Traveller Awareness trainer with West Mercia Police for over a decade. He also delivers training for The University of Worcester, the Crown Prosecution Service, and various local authorities and healthcare organisations. He was instrumental in developing the first online mandatory Gypsy and Traveller Awareness training for social workers, now adopted by councils and NHS services across Herefordshire and Worcestershire.A former manager of Travellers' Times, the UK's only publication dedicated to Gypsies and Travellers, Chris has spent years challenging media bias and stereotypes through writing and public speaking. His articles and advocacy work highlight the ongoing discrimination faced by Gypsy and Traveller communities, recognised as the most marginalised ethnic groups in the UK.Born into a traditional Romany Gypsy family, Chris lived in a caravan until the late 1980s, and many of his relatives continue to live nomadically today. His personal and professional experiences fuel his commitment to combating prejudice and increasing awareness about Gypsy and Traveller history, culture, and rights.In his early sixties, Chris believes his activism is only just beginning. His book blends memoir with social commentary, offering an unflinching look at the challenges faced by Gypsies and Travellers while calling for long-overdue change.

'The personal account of the author's family life and experiences I found fascinating, and this kept me hungry to turn the pages...It is also impacting that the author's experiences of anxiety and fear, regarding his ethnic identity being known (during his childhood), is just one more account of what can be echoed again and again.'Gentylia LeeAuthor of 'The Mystery in being a Gypsy''Chris Smith presents the reader with a meticulously detailed account of his rural Herefordshire Gypsy family and community in a most balanced fashion. The tensions of a traditional community adapting to a rapidly modernising world are described in nostalgic, but realistic ways, telling it like it was and not over-romanticising the Gypsy life.'Dr Peter UnwinThe University of Worcester