100 Great Black Britons

The 100 Great Black Britons list was compiled as a response to the BBC's 100 Greatest Britons debate that took place the previous year (November 2002) in the United Kingdom.^[1]

Patrick Vernon, founder of black heritage website Every Generation, pointed out that no black people had made it to the Top 100, saying that this was due in part to many people being unaware of the achievements and contributions of black people over the centuries.

While some in the Black community saw the project as providing useful role-models, the value of the project was challenged by others, including those nominated for the survey.^[2]

The inclusion of some individuals in this list is disputed, as there are contradictory claims as to whether they were black or not (such as Philippa of Hainault or Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz), not only because of the difficulties in defining what a black person is or is not, but also because some genealogical claims are strongly denied or lack sufficient sources.^[3]

[edit] Winners by category

[edit] Business

• Jazzie B (Entrepreneur and music producer)

[edit] Sport

• Daley Thompson (1980 and 1984 Olympic Gold medal winner for the decathlon)

[edit] Greatest Black British Woman

• Mary Seacole (Crimean war veteran nurse and original lady of the lamp)

[edit] Music

• George Bridgetower (Renowned violinist and close friend of Beethoven)

[edit] Arts and Culture

• Linton Kwesi Johnson (Britain's first Dub poet and writer)

[edit] Entertainment

• Lenny Henry (Co-founder of Comic Relief and veteran comedian/actor)

[edit] Science/Innovation/Design

• Mary Seacole (Crimean War nurse)

[edit] Nobility

• Queen Philippa (Wife of Edward III and mother of the Black Prince)

[edit] Public Life - Pioneers of the Past

• David Pitt, Baron Pitt of Hampstead (Medic, political pioneer and Labour peer)

[edit] Public Life - General

• Sir Bill Morris (Former head of the Transport and General Workers Union)

[edit] Politics

• Olaudah Equiano (Black Britain's political founding father)

[edit] Complete list

1. Mary Seacole
2. Wilfred Wood/O.A. Lyseight
3. Mary Prince
4. Olaudah Equiano
5. Philippa of Hainault
6. Courtney Pine
7. Sir Bill Morris/Sir Trevor McDonald
8. Dame Shirley Bassey
9. Bernie Grant
10. Professor Stuart Hall
11. Ellery Hanley
12. Sade Adu
13. Stephen Lawrence
14. Ms. Dynamite
15. Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Queen Charlotte)
16. Henry Sylvester Williams
17. Daley Thompson
18. Lenny Henry
19. Joan Armatrading
20. Benjamin Zephaniah
21. Arthur Wharton/Andrew Watson
22. Linton Kwesi Johnson
23. Nana Bonsu/Len Garrison
24. George of Lydda
25. Septimus Severus
26. Rosalind Howells, Baroness Howells of St Davids
27. Harold Moody
28. Lennox Lewis
29. Diane Abbott
30. William Cuffay
31. Francis Barber
32. Ignatius Sancho
33. Phil Lynott
34. Moira Stuart
35. Frank Bruno
36. Niger Val Dubh
37. Learie Constantine
38. Elizabeth Barrett Browning
39. Robert Wedderburn
40. Claudia Jones
41. Herman Ouseley
42. Craig David
43. John Barnes
44. Martin Offiah
45. Des'ree
46. Randolph Turpin
47. Paul Boateng
48. Cleo Laine
49. John Taylor, Baron Taylor of Warwick
50. Ottobah Cuguano
51. Trevor Phillips
52. Ian Wright
53. Linford Christie
54. Bruce Oldfield
55. Peter Herbert
56. Mike Fuller
57. Lee Jasper
58. Beverley Knight
59. Ozwald Boateng
60. Viv Anderson
61. Desmond Douglas
62. Patrick Berry
63. Brendan Batson
64. Floella Benjamin
65. David Pitt, Baron Pitt of Hampstead
66. John Edmonstone
67. Kanya King
68. Val McCalla
69. Dame Jocelyn Barrows
70. David Lammy
71. Oona King
72. John Archer
73. Patricia Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal
74. Valerie Amos, Baroness Amos
75. George Bridgetower
76. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
77. Zadie Smith
78. Jazzie B
79. Ira Aldridge
80. Colin Jackson
81. Yvonne Brewster
82. Duonne Alexander
83. David Case
84. Tessa Sanderson
85. Seal
86. Errol Brown
87. Rudolph Walker
88. Gabrielle/Naomi Campbell
89. Goldie
90. Mica Paris
91. Angie Le Mar
92. Ben Okri
93. Denise Lewis
94. Jeremy Guscott
95. Paul Ince
96. Nigel Benn/Chris Eubank
97. John Conteh
98. Janet Kay
99. Jenette McDonald
100. Carroll Thompson

[edit] References

1. ^ 100 Great Black Britons Press Release. Press release. http://rastaites.com/news/hearticals/100greatest.htm. Retrieved on 2006-05-27. 
2. ^ Guardian Saturday 7 February 2004 debate between Tony Sewell and Amina Taylor
3. ^ NY Times December 23, 2007 review by Adam Goodheart of Foreigners: "...they included, on the basis of questionable evidence, a few long-dead Britons (like Elizabeth Barrett Browning) who would no doubt have been surprised to hear that they were black."

[edit] External links

• 100 Great Black Britons Website