following Patrick Vernon’s talk to Wolverhampton TUC, we worked with Wolverhampton Council to get a copy in each of Wolverhampton’s 110 schools and libraries.
Year 7 students Nobelo Phuthi, Landis Osagiede and Anamika Tura receive Colton Hills Community School’s copy of 100 Great Black Britons from Councillor Dr Michael Hardacre, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills and Nick Kelleher, Secretary of the Wolverhampton, Bilston and District Trades Union Council.
Schools receive book honouring achievements of 100 Black Britons
Released: Monday 21 June, 2021
Copies of a landmark book which honours the achievements of Black people throughout history are now being delivered to schools in Wolverhampton – including one its author used to go to.
100 Great Black Britons, by Patrick Vernon and Dr Angelina Osborne, celebrates the lives, stories, achievements and contributions of key Black British individuals over history.
Among those featured are pioneering nurse and heroine of the Crimean War Mary Seacole, artist and film director Steve McQueen, rapper Stormzy, Booker prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo, Formula One megastar Lewis Hamilton, comedian Lenny Henry and Wolverhampton singing sensation Beverley Knight.
The City of Wolverhampton Council and the Wolverhampton, Bilston and District Trades Union Council have supported a national campaign by Yvonne Davis, a retired primary school headteacher from Wolverhampton, to get books into every school in Britain by purchasing a copy for each of the city’s schools and libraries.
Among those to have received a copy is Colton Hills Community School, where Pennfields-born author, broadcaster and social commentator Patrick Vernon was once a pupil.
He said: “It is a fantastic honour that the City of Wolverhampton Council has acquired copies of the best-selling 100 Great Black Britons for all schools and libraries in Wolverhampton.
I am proud of my roots in Wolverhampton, and I hope the book and my achievements will inspire young people that they can make a difference with their lives and be proud of our shared history. I am hoping to go back to Colton Hills, and also my primary school Grove Junior, during Black History Month so I can share my work with pupils.”
Headteacher Andrea Stephens said: “Colton Hills is an incredibly diverse school, and it’s one of the reasons that it is such a special place to learn.
Books like this help highlight some of the most pioneering Black Britons who have achieved and helped shape our history as a result.
It is incredibly empowering to see that one of the authors was a student at Colton Hills, which is a great way to illustrate to our children that, through hard work and resilience, they too can do anything and shape this world for the better. We are really proud to be part of this initiative and look forward to using the book for many years to come.”
Councillor Dr Michael Hardacre, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, said: “100 Great Black Britons is an important investigation into the role Black Britons have played in our island’s history over the past one thousand years and brings both well-known and unjustly neglected figures vividly to life.
We hope that, by making this book available in our schools and libraries, readers of all ages will enjoy discovering more about the impact that 100 very important individuals have had, and continue to have, on British history.”
Nick Kelleher, Secretary of Wolverhampton, Bilston and District Trades Union Council, added: “100 Great Black Britons celebrates the continued legacy and achievements of Black people in Britain and given that Patrick Vernon is also a local role model, our delegates felt that this was a perfect campaign to undertake in Wolverhampton.”
https://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/news/council-and-tuc-bring-landmark-book-schools-and-libraries
100 Great Black Britons by Patrick Vernon and Dr Angelina Osborne celebrates the continued legacy and achievements of Black people in Britain. https://100greatblackbritons.com/
Patrick, who grew up in Pennfields and is now internationally known as an author, broadcaster and social commentator explains the campaign to send 100 Great Black Britons to every school.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/send-100-great-black-britons-to-every-school
https://www.expressandstar.com/news/education/2020/10/29/campaign-to-bring-british-black-history-to-schools/
Council and TUC bring landmark book to city’s schools and libraries
Released: Thursday 18 March, 2021
The City of Wolverhampton Council and Wolverhampton, Bilston and District Trades Union Council are working together to provide local schools and libraries with copies of a landmark of book which honours the remarkable achievements of Black people throughout history.
The book, 100 Great Black Britons, is written by Patrick Vernon who grew up in Pennfields, Wolverhampton and is now internationally known as an author, broadcaster and social commentator, and Dr Angelina Osborne.
It celebrates the lives, stories, achievements and contributions of key Black British individuals over history, including new role models and previously little-known figures. Among those featured are West Midlands personalities Benjamin Zephaniah, Lenny Henry and Wolverhampton’s own Beverley Knight.
Yvonne Davis, a retired primary headteacher, originally from Wolverhampton is campaigning through GoFundMe to get books into every school in Britain, and the council and TUC are in the process of purchasing a copy for each of the city’s schools and libraries.
Councillor Dr Michael Hardacre, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, said: “100 Great Black Britons celebrates the continued legacy and achievements of Black people in Britain.
“It is an important investigation into the role Black Britons have played in our island’s history over the past 1,000 years and brings many unjustly neglected figures vividly to life.
“This is a superb opportunity to support a local writer and role model while demonstrating the council’s ongoing commitment to equality, diversity and the Black Lives Matter campaign.
“We hope that readers, either at school or through their local library, enjoy discovering more about each individual’s contribution to British history.”
Nick Kelleher, Secretary of Wolverhampton, Bilston and District Trades Union Council, added: “100 Great Black Britons celebrates the continued legacy and achievements of Black people in Britain and given that Patrick Vernon is also a local role model, our delegates felt that this was a perfect campaign to undertake in Wolverhampton.”
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