100 Great Black Britons

The 100 Great Black Britons list was compiled as a response to the BBC's 100 Greatest Britons debate of (November 2002).^[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 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]

The list, despite its title, contains more than 100 people.

Winners by category

Business

• Jazzie B (Entrepreneur and music producer)

Sport

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

Greatest Black British Woman

• Mary Seacole (Crimean war veteran nurse and original lady of the lamp^{[citation needed]})

Music

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

Arts and Culture

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

Entertainment

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

Science/Innovation/Design

• Mary Seacole (Crimean War nurse)

Public Life - Pioneers of the Past

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

Public Life - General

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

Politics

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

Complete list

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

References

External links

• 100 Great Black Britons Website