Champions

Arthur Torrington has been at the forefront of championing the West Indian legacy in Britain and helped set up an organisation that has given the Empire Windrush its place in history.[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle"...

Lenny Henry won a TV talent contest in his teens to become one of the country’s best known actors and comedians, earning him a knighthood along the way[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px"...

Benjamin Zephaniah went from borstal boy to becoming one of Britain’s most well known poets and recipient of more than a dozen honorary degrees[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px"...

After cutting his political teeth in the Caribbean, Winston Pinder became a pioneering youth worker who left a legacy in more ways than one[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px"...

Lord Morris of Handsworth rose from shop floor to shop steward to lead one of Britain’s biggest trade unions[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px" dsm_icon_size="22px" dsm_color_type="custom"...

Best known as founder of the Voice newspaper, Val McCalla went from bookkeeper to millionaire in just a few years’1943-2002[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px" dsm_icon_size="22px"...

Baroness Valerie Amos of Brondesbury has had a meteoric rise in public life that has seen her make history with a number of ‘firsts’[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px" dsm_icon_size="22px"...

A high flier since his student days, broadcaster and former politician Trevor Phillips is regarded as a prime mover and shaker[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px" dsm_icon_size="22px"...

Legendary community worker Sybil Phoenix, worked tirelessly to improve the lives of youngsters in her south London heartland of Lewisham[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px" dsm_icon_size="22px"...

Regarded as the father of cultural theory and one of the foremost intellectuals of the British left, Stuart Hall revolutionised thinking about race and class and the role of popular art forms in mainstream culture1932-2014[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon"...

Firebrand lawyer Rudy Narayan was never far from controversy as he led a crusade against racism in the criminal justice system1938-1998[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px" dsm_icon_size="22px"...

Actor Rudolph Walker has been a much-loved face on British TV since the 1970s, helping to pave the way for a new generation of black talent[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px"...

Grassroots activist Rosalind Howells has made a significant contribution to landmark events in the struggle for equal rights in the UK[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px" dsm_icon_size="22px"...

A man of many parts, Ron Ramdin has carved out a career for himself as an academic and writer[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px" dsm_icon_size="22px" dsm_color_type="custom"...

The scholar Paul Gilroy is credited with bringing about a better understanding of what it means to be black and British in a global world[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px"...

Baroness Patricia Scotland QC’s meteoric career has seen her already enter the history books, most notably as the first black female Queen’s Counsel and the first woman to become Attorney General[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat"...

Neville Lawrence campaigned tirelessly to bring the killers of his son Stephen Lawrence to justice and is now working to tackle knife crime in London[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px"...

Author Mike Phillips has written a series of acclaimed thrillers and also made an important contribution to our understanding of the Windrush Generation[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px"...

Over the years the work of dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson has provided a searing social commentary on the experience of black British life[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px"...

Founder of the Black Cultural Archives, Len Garrison spent a lifetime expanding the knowledge of black British history and heritage, particularly in schools1943-2003[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one"...

Poet, essayist, publisher and activist, John La Rose was all of these and more in a life dedicated to cultural and political change1927-2006[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px"...

Poet, playwright and performer, John Agard has made a considerable splash in the UK with his unique brand of verse[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px" dsm_icon_size="22px"...

Regarded as an elder stateswoman of the black community, Dame Jocelyn Barrow has dedicated her life to fighting for racial equality in UK[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px"...

Formidable husband and wife team Jessica & Eric Huntley were at the forefront of black people’s struggles in Britain over the last 50 years1927-2013 (Jessica)[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one"...

Acclaimed poet and author James Berry helped pave the way for a new generation of black writers1924-2017[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px" dsm_icon_size="22px" dsm_color_type="custom"...

Herman Ouseley’s public service career has seen him rise to the top of leading institutions in the country, earning him both a knighthood and a peerage[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px"...

As one of the few women professors in the UK, Professor Heidi Mirza has devoted her career to tackling discrimination within the education system, especially in relation to its effects on girls[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat"...

Known as the professor of brewing and knighted for his services to science, Sir Geoff Palmer came from humble beginnings to revolutionise the malting industry[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one"...

Life peer Baroness Floella Benjamin gave up her job in a bank to become an actor, reaching national treasure status when she began presenting the children’s TV show Play School[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle"...

One of the NHS’ pioneer nurses from the Caribbean, Edna’s life continues to be one of dedicated public service[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px" dsm_icon_size="22px" dsm_color_type="custom"...

The brutal murder of her son, Stephen Lawrence, propelled Baroness Doreen Lawrence into public prominence when she led a tireless campaign to expose police racism[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one"...

Diane Abbott made history as the first black woman MP in 1987 and has enjoyed an eventful parliamentary career that has seen her on Labour’s front bench[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px"...

Raised to the peerage in the 1970s, David Pitt combined his life as a doctor with political activism rooted in both the Caribbean and the UK[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px"...

David Lammy worked as a barrister before joining parliament and becoming an outspoken critic of continuing social injustice[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px" dsm_icon_size="22px"...

Scholar David Dabydeen’s long list of achievements include award-winning novelist, poet and broadcaster[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px" dsm_icon_size="22px" dsm_color_type="custom"...

Darcus Howe was a prominent anti-racist activist in the UK before becoming a commentator and frontman for current affair shows on TV1943-2017[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px"...

A brilliant organiser and charismatic speaker, Claudia Jones was at the forefront of Britain’s civil rights struggle during the 1950s[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px" dsm_icon_size="22px"...

A prominent trade unionist and local councillor, Bernie Grant went on to make history as one of four black politicians elected to parliament in 19871944-2000[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px"...

Arif Ali’s first publishing venture began in his grocery store in the 1960s and ended up spawning one of the biggest companies of its kind in Europe[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px"...

Father of F1 racing star Lewis, entrepreneur and mentor Anthony Hamilton believes focus is the key to any sporting success[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px" dsm_icon_size="22px"...

Ansel Wong has gone from student firebrand to being a prime mover and shaker in education and the arts in an effort to reshape Britain’s cultural landscape[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px"...

Award-winning novelist Andrea Levy continues to provide an evocative picture of black Britons and their links with the Caribbean following the arrival of the Empire Windrush[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one"...

Pioneering broadcaster and entertainer Alex Pascall OBE hosted a radio show that was considered the voice of the black community in the 1970s[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px"...

A regular fixture on both stage and small screen, Carmen Munroe is best known for her role in one of Britain’s most successful sitcoms, Desmond’s[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px"...

Len Dyke, Dudley Dryden and Anthony Wade became self-made millionaires after launching their black hair business in north London[dsm_social_share_buttons dsm_view="icon" dsm_skin="flat" dsm_shape="circle" dsm_column="one" dsm_row_gap="5px" dsm_icon_size="22px"...