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Founder in 1996, of the MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in "music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and African music.

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Founding director of Foundervine, Izzy provides founders with access to training, mentoring and funding opportunities. Since 2018, 2,000 young people have been skilled by Foundervine programmes, $230,000+ raised with 62% female participation. She is an experienced public speaker and has helped people grow at global brands such as Just Eat, Facebook, PwC, Google, AirBnB and more. Izzy is a Non-Executive Director for Capital Enterprise, a body that has raised £814.7m for UK startups and a former trustee for Parkrun.

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Founder of WAH Nails and Beautystack. An advocate for women's empowerment. WAH completely changed the beauty landscape with its millennial voice, feminist attitude and innovative salon space. She has written two books, delivered global pop up nail salons for 100s of brands, created a product line with Walgreen Boots Alliance and was awarded an MBE for services to Beauty and Women.

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A business leader with 25 years of experience in the marketing communications industry. As UK Country Manager for WPP, the global creative transformation company based in 112 countries, she oversees WPP’s second largest market and the 14,000 people working across its operating brands in the UK. She is Chairwoman of WPP’s MediaCom, the largest media agency in the UK with billings over £1.3 billion. Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth.

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John Lewis Partnership's sixth Chairman from February 2020. Sharon moved from Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, where she served as Chief Executive. Before joining Ofcom, Sharon was Second Permanent Secretary at the Treasury, responsible for overseeing the public finances. She also held Board level positions at the Ministry of Justice and the Department for International Development, worked as an adviser at the Prime Minister's Policy Unit and in Washington DC as a senior economist at the World Bank.

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McKinsey and Company's first chief technology and platform officer (CTPO) and leads its overall technology portfolio and strategy. Served as chief digital officer and corporate vice president for Microsoft US. Before that, she held senior technology leadership roles spanning multiple industries, including chief information officer roles at BP and General Electric. She also held a leadership role within the UK government as HM Revenue and Customs’ chief digital and information officer.

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Founder member of the Organisation of Women of African and Asian Descent (OWAAD) in 1978; and is best known for The Heart of the Race: Black Women’s Lives in Britain (London: Virago, 1985), which won the 1985 Martin Luther King Award for Literature, and which she co-authored with Beverley Bryan and Suzanne Scafe.

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The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

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Doreen Delceita Lawrence, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon OBE

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Campaigner and the mother of Stephen Lawrence, a black British teenager who was murdered in a racist attack in South East London in 1993. She is has been life peer in the House of Lords since 2013. Her ongoing efforts led to an investigation into claims of police corruption and, for her, the changes in policing remain ‘only partly done’, having revealed something about the wider society.  Despite setbacks in her campaign, Baroness Lawrence continues to lead and inspire as a powerhouse of courage, quietly persuading young people to have the confidence to stand against racism. Founder of the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation (April 22).

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Founder, Artistic and Executive Director of the Chineke! Foundation

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Wales’ first black headteacher at Mount Stuart in the 1970s, and champion of multiculturalism. Her inspirational teaching about slavery, black history and apartheid in South Africa made her school’s reputation grow exponentially. Later becoming a member of the Commission for Racial Equality, Campbell was invited to meet Nelson Mandela on his only visit to Wales in 1998.

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Co-founder and director of UK Black Pride - Europe’s largest pride celebration for LGBTQIA+ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American and Middle Eastern-descent.

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British television broadcaster, journalist and presenter. First black woman to present ITV’s News at Ten and regularly hosts the daytime programme Loose Women. Formerly worked at the BBC where she worked at various stations including Radio 1Xtra.

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The Rt Revd Rose Hudson -Wilkin, CD, MBE

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The Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin is the Bishop of Dover and the Bishop in Canterbury. She has oversight for Canterbury Diocese which stretches from Maidstone southwards and includes the Weald, Romney Marsh, Ashford, Dover, Thanet, Faversham, Sittingbourne and the Isle of Sheppey.

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The power of women by June Sarpong

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Founding member of Operation Black Vote, was head of Equality and Diversity for the Crown Prosecution Service in London, for 14 years (developing hate crime prosecution policies and community engagement strategies). She is a co-founder of the Justice 4 Grenfell Campaign.

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While a great novel is a great novel regardless of race or gender, BHM 365 wants to call out the absolute must-read books by black female writers that will inspire you

Bernardine Evaristo

Award-winning author of seven books and other works that span genres of fiction, essays, and theatre drama, Bernardine Evaristo is a creative powerhouse. Her latest novel, Mr Loverman, is about a 74-year-old Caribbean London man who is closet homosexual. Even The Guardian writes, "If you don't yet know her work, you should - she says things about modern Britain that no one else does." If you're lucky enough to be a student at London's Brunel University, be sure to take her Creative Writing class.

Aminatta Forna

Born in Scotland, Aminatta Forna is an award-winning author who has spent time living in Sierra Leone, Iran, Zambia and Thailand. Her memoir, The Devil that Danced on the Water, is about her dissident father and received wide acclaim as it was chosen for the "Barnes & Noble Discover New Writers" series. Her novel, The Memory of Love, was shortlisted for The Commonwealth Writers' Prize in 2011. Her writing is strong and her stories are filled with rich, colorful characters dealing with real struggles. Not just an author, Forna has a passion for serving others and she established the Rogbonko Project back in 2003 to build a school in a Sierra Leone village.

Diana Evans

Award-winning writer and journalist, Diana Evans was born in London and earned her MA in creative writing at the University of East Anglia. Her first critically-acclaimed novel, 26a, is about identical twin sisters who must deal with their alcoholic English father and quirky Nigerian mother. They forge a way to find their dreams and escape to a world of their own making. Evans' words are captivating and inspiring; her novels are must-reads.

Dorothy Koomson

Dorothy Koomson holds two degrees in Journalism and Psychology from Leeds University and wrote her first [unpublished] novel, There's A Thin Line Between Love And Hate, at just 13 years old. Her second novel, The Chocolate Run, published in 2004, is a fun story about Amber Salpone whose life motto is: who needs love when you've got chocolate? Koomson writes with sass and wit; she's an excellent author to check out.

Dreda Say Mitchell

Born and raised in London's East End, Dreda Say Mitchell is not only a novelist but a broadcaster, motivational speaker and freelance education consultant. She's written for The Guardian, The Observer and The Independent on issues ranging from race and class to government and education. Mitchell was also the first black British writer to be awarded the Crime Writers Association's John Creasey Dagger for her debut book entitled Running Hot. Her latest book, Death Trap, is about a young girl who has five days to stay alive after seeing her family murdered. If you're a fan of book series and sequels, check out Mitchell's "Gangland Girl" series as well as her Blood Sister/Mother/Daughter series. Original and vivid, her thrilling books are action-packed and gripping.

Patrice Lawrence

Patrice Lawrence is a British writer and journalist, who has published fiction both for adults and children. Published in 2016, Orangeboy won The Bookseller′s YA Book Prize 2017, the Waterstones Children's Book Prize for Older Children 2017, and was shortlisted for the 2016 Costa Children's Book Award. Her follow-up book, Indigo Donut (2017), was described by Alex O'Connell in The Times as "addictive", having "many of the themes of a Jacqueline Wilson novel: bullying, fostering, teenage relationships.

Hannah Pool

Hannah Pool is a writer to take note of. Former beauty editor at The Guardian, Pool was born in the East-African country of Eritrea and adopted by a British scholar at the age of six months. Published in 2005, her memoir, My Fathers' Daughter, is an account of the journey she made back to Eritrea at 29 years old to meet with relatives she never knew she had; including her father whom she thought was dead. With wisdom, wit and warmth, Pool takes the reader on a journey that would forever change her.

Irenosen Okojie

Born in Nigeria and raised in England, Irenosen Okojie studied Communications and Visual Culture at London Metropolitan University. Author of Butterfly Fish, Okojie explores themes of hope, love and loss in a story about a woman exploring her African heritage. Okojie's short stories have been published internationally and she was a selected writer by Theatre Royal Stratford East and Writer in Residence for TEDx East End. Okojie voices concern over the lack of diversity in Britain's literary community and she uses her platform to champion the voices of all writers, no matter race or gender.

Malorie Blackman

Malorie Blackman is a British writer who held the position of Children's Laureate from 2013 to 2015. Originally from the Clapham district in London, Blackman describes herself simply: "I'm just Malorie Blackman, a black woman writer." She primarily writes literature and television drama for children and young adults. She has used science fiction to explore social and ethical issues. Her critically and popularly acclaimed Noughts and Crosses series uses the setting of a fictional dystopia to explore racism.

Nadifa Mohamed

Oxford educated and raised in London, Nadifa Mohamed was born in Somalia to a sailor and landlady. She based her award-winning first novel, Black Mamba Boy, off of her father's stories and journeys through the 1930s and 40s. Her most recent novel published in 2013, The Orchard of Lost Souls, is set in 1980s Somalia on the eve of the civil war; a very personal situation to Mohamed as the civil war is the reason her family remained in the UK rather than returning to Somalia. The NYT notes that in both of her novels Mohamed "shows how the echo of war reverberates down the generations, and why every nation needs its storytellers."

Oona King

Oona King is actually a member of the House of Lords who happens to also be a published author. King is from Sheffield, UK and is an inspiration to women all around the world. House Music: The Oona King Diaries is a political diary of her time in the House of Commons and was published in 2007. This memoir is not just for those interested in politics, but for anyone who can relate to the struggles of juggling the work-life balance. King is also very outspoken about her battle with endometriosis and her political background has given her the platform to continually inform and inspire others.

Patience Agbabi

British poet and performer, Patience Agbabi is known for her work's contemporary themes of race, sex and gender identity. Born in London to Nigerian parents, Agbabi later studied English Language and Literature at Pembroke College, Oxford. Her first collection of poetry, R.A.W, was published in 1995 and received the Excelle Literary Award in 1997. The Poetry Society announced in March 2015 that Agbabi was one of five poets shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry, for her most recent book, Telling Tales. Agbabi's work is gripping and she is an inspiration to many; her influences include Chaucer and Janis Joplin.

Zadie Smith

Born in north-west London, Zadie Smith may be one of the most well-known black British authors today. With close to 50,000 'likes' on her Facebook page, she is a literary powerhouse and rightfully so. Her first novel, White Teeth, was published in 2000 (when Smith was just 24) and won multiple honors including a spot on Time's "100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005." The novel was even adapted for a four-part television series in 2002. With themes of immigration, race and fundamentalism, Smith draws readers in and doesn't disappoint. Zadie Smith is currently working on her fifth novel, Swing Time, set to be published in the fall of 2016.

Precious Williams

"I grew up assuming it was me against the world," Precious Williams wrote in a 2010 article for The Guardian. Williams grew up black in a white community where she struggled to find her identity. Her first book, a memoir titled Precious: A True Story, has been described as "hauntingly beautiful," "brilliant," and "poetic." Her writing is starkly candid as she takes readers on her journey as she was "plunged into white culture like a screaming lobster being dropped into a boiling pot." If you've ever felt like an outsider and unsure of where you fit in, Williams is an author not to be missed. Her words are indeed as precious as her name and she can serve as an inspiration to all.

Yrsa Daley-Ward

Yrsa Daley-Ward is a writer and poet who was raised by her grandparents in the small town of Chorley in the North of England. She is known for her debut book, Bone, as well as for her spoken-word poetry, and for being an "Instagram poet". Her memoir, The Terrible, was published in 2018,and in 2019 won the PEN/Ackerley Prize

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Black British Female Authors you should read

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While a great novel is a great novel regardless of race or gender, BHM 365 wants to call out the absolute must-read books by black female writers that

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Mixed blessings from a Cambridge union by Professor Elizabeth N Anionwu

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A collection of diversity and inclusion e-books available to all NHS staff (and students on NHS placement) in England. You will require an OpenAthens account to read these via Kortext.

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A new collection of diversity and inclusion e-books is available to all NHS staff (and students on NHS placement) in England. You require OpenAthens and you can see the books via Kortext.

There are 23 titles which have been selected in consultation with members from all the regions.

HEE will continue to expand this collection so feedback and suggestions are welcome.

The titles are:

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Kortext Diversity and Inclusion ebooks | Surrey and Sussex Library Services

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A new collection of diversity and inclusion e-books is available to all NHS staff (and students on NHS placement) in England. You require OpenAthens and you can see the books via Kortext. There are 23 titles which have been selected in consultation with members from all the regions.

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The fastest British woman in history. Currently holds British records in the 100m (10.83 secs), 200m (21.88 secs) and 4x100m (41.77 secs); British Junior records in the 100m (11.14 secs) and 200m (22.61 secs) and the European Junior Indoor record in the 200m (23.15 secs).

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British writer, broadcaster and best-selling author, wrote the book: Brit(ish), view it here

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A short history of Mary Seacole: a resource for nurses and students by Professor Elizabeth N Anionwu

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Publisher and community rights activist. Established a publishing house in west London, 1969 called Bogle L’ouverture Press (named after Paul Bogle and Toussaint L’Ouverture).One of their first publications was Walter Rodney’s The Groundings with my brothers, the next How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. They went on to publish and popularise Maya Angelou, George Jackson, Frantz Fanon and first published the poetry of Linton Kwesi Johnson.

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British author and academic, whose novel: Girl, Woman, Other won the Booker Prize in 2019 (first black woman to win this prize). She is the Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University London and President of the Royal Society of Literature (second woman and first black person to hold this role since the society was founded in 1820).

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"“Instagram poet”, publishing short, pithy and deeply personal lines next to selfies and carefully curated images. It is a form that has enraged some poetry lovers and delighted many more, and The Terrible will probably have the same effect. It has echoes of Jeanette Winterson’s Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit and Max Porter’s Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, but is uniquely itself." Instagram page

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A Book of Medical Discourses, in Two Parts by Rebecca Lee Crumpler. Published in 1883. You may view the original book here. Dr Rebecca Lee Crumpler was the first African American female to earn a medical degree in the United States in 1863 at the New England Female Medical College, which later became the Boston University School of Medicine.

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Dame Linda Dobbs DBE, B.Sc., LLM, Ph.D.,

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Served as High Court Judge on the Queen’s Bench Division for nine years from 2004 until 2013. She was the first non-white judge appointed to the High Court in the UK. Named in the past as one of Britain’s most powerful black women and one of the 100 Great Black Britons, currently training judges and lawyers internationally (in particular, in the Caribbean and Africa)

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Valerie Ann Amos, Baroness Amos of Brondesbury

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The first woman of African descent to serve in a British cabinet and as leader of the House of Lords (2003–07). She later served as British high commissioner to Australia (2009–10); then became director of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London in 2015. In 2020, became master at University College, Oxford; she was the first woman to hold the post and the first Black person to head a college at the University of Oxford.

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The first black woman elected to the  London Borough of Islington Council in 1986 and became mayor two years later. Her daughter took the post of Deputy Mayor in 1988.

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Was elected as Liverpool’s first female Mayor in May 2021-2023 , after serving as a councillor for Princes Park ward for two years. Proud to be the first Black woman to be directly elected as a Mayor in the UK. Anderson left office in May 2023, in line with the abolition of the post of Mayor of Liverpool.

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Aged 11, she was the youngest girl ever to pass A-level computing, and was just 20 years old when she received her Master’s Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Oxford. Has held positions at Goldman Sachs, Hewlett-Packard and Deutsche Bank; and is the current President of the British Science Association. Founder of Stemettes in 2013, which has helped over 40k girls realize their STEM potential

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First black woman to win a gold medal in the Physics News Award and served as the president of the British Science Association from 2021 to 2022. Space scientist, science communicator and presenter of the BBC’s The Sky at Night. She completed a PhD in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1994, after an undergraduate degree in Physics at Imperial College London.

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Chair and Co-Founder, Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers UK (AFBE-UK); Technical Director, WSP. AFBE-UK, is a not-for-profit organisation that promotes higher achievements in education and engineering, particularly among people from Black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds. Formed in 2007, AFBE-UK has over 20,000 beneficiaries, a UK-wide membership of over 2500, and over 65 corporate members from a wide range of engineering organisations.

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Senior Director for Government Affairs at PerkinElmer, a global science and technology corporation. She is the Chair of the General Pharmaceutical Council, UK and former Chair of the British Science Association. She also serves on the Board of the Bar Standards Board and Briyah Institute, USA. Gisela is the Founder and former Managing Director of OTGA Management Consultancy. Gisela is a Commissioner for the National Preparedness Commission in UK. She has worked in conjunction with the WHO, World Bank and the UN to improve health outcomes globally. She is also a Global Goodwill Ambassador.

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In 1979, Anionwu became the United Kingdom's first sickle-cell and thalassemia nurse specialist, helping establish the Brent Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Counselling centre[1] with consultant haematologist Milica Brozovic. In 1999, by then a Professor of Nursing, Anionwu created the Mary Seacole Centre for Nursing Practice at the University of West London. She holds the Order of Merit, was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN). She retired in 2007, and in 2016 she published her memoirs, Mixed Blessings from a Cambridge Union.

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Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central, and has been an MP continuously since 6 May 2010. She currently undertakes the role of Shadow Minister (Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy). As an engineer she specialised in building out infrastructure in new markets and standardising wholesale Ethernet access. Her last role before entering parliament was as head of Telecoms Technology for Ofcom the Communications Regulator.

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Mary Seacole's reputation after the Crimean War (1853-1856) rivalled Florence Nightingale's. Unlike Nightingale, Seacole also had the challenge to have her skills put to proper use in spite of her being black. A born healer and a woman of driving energy, she overcame official indifference and prejudice.

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The ‘Mother’ of Notting Hill Carnival: Claudia Jones

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In 1958, Jones founded the West Indian Gazette (WIG), an anti-racist newspaper campaigning for social equality. This was Britain’s first commercial Black newspaper. WIG sought to unite West Indians in diaspora and to foster dialogue with Black internationalist freedom movements. The paper also highlighted patterns of anti-Black violence, racial harassment and prejudice in the UK. She helped organize the first (1959) West Indian Carnival in London. The festivities subsequently grew into the Notting Hill Carnival.

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In 1987 Diane Abbott made history by becoming the first black woman ever elected to the British Parliament and is the longest serving black Member of Parliament (MP). She has since built a distinguished career as a parliamentarian, broadcaster and commentator. She serves as MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington. Diane also Chairs the British-Caribbean All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and the APPG for Sickle Cell and Thalassemia.

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Fought for Black Women’s Rights in Britain. In the 27 years, she was alive, Morris raised awareness of inequalities by travelling, writing, organizing protests and setting up support groups. … Olive Morris learned early in life the consequences of fighting injustice. In 1986 the Brixton Black Women’s group, of which she was a co-founder, campaigned to have 18 Brixton Hill renamed Olive Morris House in her memory.

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Singer and actress, who early in her career drew comparisons with Josephine Baker. Recognized as a “trailblazing performer”: in 1939, she made history as the first black singer to feature on BBC Radio, building a solid reputation not only through her work in Britain but also internationally, travelling to France, Germany, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Hungary, the United States, India and Spain. Despite being British and growing up in Battersea, her own song and dance troupe performed under the name ‘Evelyn Dove and her Plantation Creoles’

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Margaret Yvonne Busby, CBE aka Nana Akua Ackon

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In her 20s she was Britain’s youngest and first black woman publisher and campaigner for diversity in publishing. She published works by many famous authors including CLR James, Sam Greenlee, George Lamming, Andrew Salkey, Michael Horowitz and many more.

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British educationalist, community activist, and the first Black woman to be a governor of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). She was also a pioneer in the Windrush generation, which refers to the wave of immigrants who came to the United Kingdom from Caribbean countries between 1948 and 1971.

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This list of women is not exhaustive and represents only a small part of the contribution of African women, known and unknown, to the history of their countries, Africa and all mankind.

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Bibi Titi Mohamed (1926-2000) was one of the leaders of the Tanzanian nationalist movement. Born into a Muslim, merchant family, she entered politics in 1955, becoming the first female member of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), an independent party led by Julius Nyerere.