8. Belle Lived in the Top 5% of Society, but Always Battled Racism
William Murray and his wife, Elizabeth, lived in a mansion known as Kenwood. It is located and Hampstead, London and served as a home to not only Murray but also other families of Britain’s highest society. Murray bought the house in 1754 and later remodeled it. It was this home which Belle’s father, Lindsay, brought her to live. While Belle lived a luxurious life and was well cared for until her dying day by Murray and his family, she was still the victim of racism inside and outside of Kenwood.
During Belle’s life, Britain still allowed slavery. And while she lived in a society with many other people of African origin, this did not mean she did not suffer from racism. Not only did people scoff at Belle and sometimes the Murray’s because Belle was black, but they also mocked because she lived very well. As William Murray, a descendant of the Murray’s stated, “Dido was very, very privileged. She was in the top 5%, perhaps the top 1%, in terms of how she lived, her allowance, her dress, her education.”