October marks Black History Month, which is a time when people around the world reflect on and celebrate the lives, histories and cultures of the black community.
Throughout Black History Month 2024, a range of events, discussions, and educational activities will be taking place across the country, all focused on this year’s theme: Reclaiming Narratives.
UK organisers have invited people to join the conversation, share their stories, and be a part of this movement.
They are encouraging everyone to use #ReclaimingNarrativesBHM on social media to connect with others and keep the conversation going.
As part of LondonWorld’s series on Black History Month, we want to celebrate it by highlighting the work of 10 inspirational black Londoners.
5. Bernadine Evaristo
Bernadine Evaristo was born in Woolwich and is a writer and academic. Her eighth novel Girl, Woman, Other won the Booker Prize in 2019, making her the first black woman and first black Brit to ever win the prestigious award. Girl, Woman, Other was listed as one of Barack Obama’s 19 Favourite Books of 2019. Evaristo, 65, is professor of creative writing at Brunel University, London and is one of fewer than 30 black female professors in the UK, out of around 20,000 professors overall. | AFP via Getty Images
6. Patrick Vernon
Patrick Vernon is a social commentator and Windrush campaigner, who works in the voluntary and public sector. He is a former Labour Councillor in Hackney and was appointed by Jeremy Corbyn as race equalities adviser to the Shadow Equalities Ministerial Team between 2015 to 2017. Vernon is also founder of Every Generation Media and 100 Great Black Britons, which develops education programmes, publications and films on cultural heritage and family history. Since 2010 Vernon has been leading the campaign for Windrush Day and in 2018 kick started the campaign for an amnesty for the Windrush Generation following the deportment scandal. | Credit: Patrick Vernon
7. David Lammy, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
David Lammy has served as Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom since July 2024. He has also been an MP for Tottenham since 2000. Lammy often speaks out about issues including inequality, crime, race, prejudice and other human rights issues. He has written two books; Out of the Ashes: Britain After the Riots and Tribes and has featured as one of the 100 Great Black Britons in both the 2003 and 2020 lists. | Ian Forsyth/Getty Images
8. Sir Mo Farah
Sir Mo Farah, CBE, is a Somali-born British former long-distance runner and the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic Games history He was the 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medalist in both the 5000 m and 10,000 m, making him the second athlete in the world to ever achieve this. Farah lives in south-west London with his wife and their four children. | Supplied Photo: Submitted