100 Great Black Britons
[1] The result of Vernon's campaign was that in February 2004 Mary Seacole was announced as having been voted the greatest Black Briton.
[2][3] Following the original poll, 100 Great Black Britons was re-launched in 2020 in an updated version based on public voting, together with a book of the same title.
[9] The website that hosted the survey www.100greatestblackbritons.com received more than a million hits during the online campaign, and more than 100,000 people voted in the poll over three months, choosing from a selection of present-day and historic Black figures.
[9][3] The poll has been described as a landmark moment and one of the most successful movements to focus on the role of people of African and Caribbean descent in British history.
[10] Top of the subsequent list of 100 Greatest Black Britons was Mary Seacole, a nurse who helped soldiers during the Crimean War and who is often overshadowed by the work of her contemporary, Florence Nightingale, and whose contribution was often ignored by the history books.
We should celebrate our heroes every single day the year and not wait until Black History Month to bring these issues to public attention".
[8] The inclusion of Queen Philippa of Hainault on the list was criticised, as historians dispute that she was "black" in any modern sense.
[13] Prince had her account transcribed while living and working in England at the home of Thomas Pringle, a founder of the Anti-Slavery Society.
He was part of the Sons of Africa, an abolitionist group composed of Africans living in Britain, and he was active among leaders of the anti-slave trade movement in the 1780s.
Since the late 20th century, when his autobiography was published in a new edition, Equiano has been increasingly studied by a range of scholars, including from his homeland.
Philippa won much popularity with the English people for her kindness and compassion, which were demonstrated in 1347 when she successfully persuaded King Edward to spare the lives of the Burghers of Calais.
Grant attended Tottenham Technical College, and went on to take a degree course in Mining Engineering at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.
While at the centre, Hall is credited with playing a role in expanding the scope of cultural studies to deal with race and gender, and with helping to incorporate new ideas derived from the work of French theorists such as Michel Foucault.
[22] The campaign and poll was re-launched by Vernon and Dr Angeline Osborne, an independent researcher and heritage consultant, in the wake of the Windrush scandal, the Brexit referendum, the rise of right-wing populism and the continuing economic issues faced by black communities across the UK.
[22] The poll and campaign was re-launched to celebrate and tackle the invisibility of Black people's achievements and contributions in the UK.
[23] The public was invited to vote for the most-admired Black Briton in several categories, and from the thousands of nominations received in 2019 a shortlist was selected.
[29][30] With the book's publication, a campaign was launched to pay for a copy to be sent to every secondary school, against the background of calls for Black and other minorities' history to be added to the National Curriculum being rejected by the government.
