100 Great Black Britons
1 October 2020
October is Black History Month and Malorie Blackman,
Bernardine Evaristo, Jackie Kay, Andrea Levy and Benjamin Zephaniah
are among the literary talents recognised in the recently announced
list of 100 Great Black Britons. See the full list on the 100 Great Black Britons website.
16 years after the original 100 Great Black Britons list,
Patrick Vernon OBE and Angelina Osborne launched a new campaign to
celebrate Black British History and Black Britons who contributed
to shape Great Britain by their work and actions. The public was
invited to vote for the Black Briton they most admire.
The campaign was a huge success and they received thousands of
nominations. In January 2020, a panel of experts were invited to do
the final short cut of 100 Great Black Britons.
The recently published 100 Great Black Britons book by Patrick
Vernon OBE and Dr Angelina Osborne (Robinson) acts as a companion
to this vital and updated campaign. With a foreword written by
David Olusoga, the book includes a list of Black British names and
accompanying portraits that explores these individuals'
contribution and legacy to British History.
A campaign to send the book to every secondary school in the UK
has been set up by retired school teacher Yvonne Davis: see
GoFundMe page Send 100 Great Black Britons to Every
School.
The Royal Mail has also unveiled four special edition postboxes
to mark Black History Month. The Scottish one is in Byres Road in
Glasgow and was chosen for its central location within the city.
The box features an image of Walter Tull, who had signed on to
become the first black player for Rangers, before being tragically
killed in action in his post within the British Army (where he was
the first black officer to command troops in a regular unit). He
featured in a set of stamps released in 2018, to mark the end of
the First World War. See the Royal Mail website.