100 Great Black Britons

A Celebration of the Extraordinary Contribution of Key Figures of African or Caribbean Descent to British Life

By: Patrick Vernon, Angelina Osborne

Narrated by: Ben Onwukwe

A long-overdue book honouring the remarkable achievements of key black British individuals over many centuries, in collaboration with the 100 Great Black Britons campaign founded and run by Patrick Vernon OBE.

'Buillding on decades of scholarship, this book by Patrick Vernon and Dr Angelina Osborne brings the biographies of Black Britons together and vividly expands the historical backdrop against which these hundred men and women lived their lives. Despite prejudice and racism, they went on to achieve outstanding success in fields from politics to film-making; publishing to teaching; sport to medicine; law to business; and music to architecture...life stories have their role to play, as they did at the beginning of this process, in revealing and making sense of the past and guiding us into a better future'

From the Foreword, by David Olusoga

Patrick Vernon's landmark 100 Great Black Britons campaign of 2003 was one of the most successful movements to focus on the role of people of African and Caribbean descent in British history. Frustrated by the widespread and continuing exclusion of the black British community from the mainstream popular conception of 'Britishness', despite black people having lived in Britain for over a thousand years, Vernon set up a public poll in which anyone could vote for the black Briton they most admired.

The response to this campaign was incredible. As a result, a number of black historical figures were included on the national school curriculum and had statues and memorials erected and blue plaques put up in their honour. Mary Seacole was adopted by the Royal College of Nursing and was given the same status as Florence Nightingale. Children and young people were finally being encouraged to feel pride in their history and a sense of belonging in Britain.

Now, with this book, Vernon and Osborne have relaunched the campaign with an updated list of names and accompanying portraits - including new role models and previously little-known historical figures. Each entry explores in depth the individual's contribution to British history - a contribution that too often has been either overlooked or dismissed.

In the wake of the 2018 Windrush scandal, and against the backdrop of Brexit, the rise of right-wing populism and the continuing inequality faced by black communities across the UK, the need for this campaign is greater than ever.

©2020 Angelina Osborne and Patrick Vernon (P)2020 Hachette Audio UK

Critic reviews

This book is timely and so important. Especially now during the Black Lives Matter movement, people all over the country are looking to expand their knowledge of Black British historical figures and this book will help people to do just that. It is never too late to do the right thing - recognition is long overdue. I am sure you will see this book on many bookshelves and I would encourage everyone to buy it! (Dawn Butler MP)

An empowering read . . . it is refreshing to see somebody celebrate the role that black Britons have played in this island's long and complicated history. (David Lammy, author of Tribes in 'The Best Books of 2020')