Invisible AND Unsung Great Britain’s unknown and unDER-celebrated heroes and heroines from the Caribbean and beyond.

INVISIBLE AND UNSUNG THE FORGOTTEN MANY Efforts have been made in recent years to celebrate the contributions “people of colour” have made in support of the United Kingdom. Black History month, for example. And still, there are many unsung and under celebrated Black Britons—  too many to do justice to in a short presentation. I hope to highlight a small selection. It’s important to note: I’m focusing primarily on Black Britons here, but equal care and attention should be offered to a broader range of cultural backgrounds. How many of these names have you heard of?

nurse, hotelier, boarding house keeper, author… Mary Jane Seacole nurse, hotelier, boarding house keeper, author… (1805 – 14 May 1881) a British- Jamaican business woman and "nurse" who set up the "British Hotel" behind the lines during the Crimean War. She described this as "a mess-table and comfortable quarters for sick and convalescent officers", and provided succour for wounded servicemen on the battlefield. She was posthumously awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit in 1991. In 2004 she was voted the greatest black Briton.

J.S Celestine Edwards (1858-1894) the first Black man to edit a White-owned newspaper Lux (1892-1895), the weekly Christian Evidence Newspaper. He was also the editor of its monthly journal ‘Fraternity (1893-1897)’ which reached a circulation of more than 7000. According to Peter Fryer, Edwards is the first known Black British editor. His work with Fraternity led him to a successful collaboration with Ida B. Wells during her first anti-lynching tour of the British Isles.

Henry Sylvester Williams the African-Association (1869-1911) helped to found the African-Association, which lobbied for human rights in the colonies and was instrumental in holding the first Pan-African Conference in London (1900). Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all people of African descent.

Amy Ashwood Garvey Amy Ashwood Garvey (1897- 1969) was a playwright, lecturer and Pan-Africanist who founded the Nigerian Progress Union in London in 1924. She became an important figure in the anti-racist movement in England. In 1959, she chaired an enquiry into race relations following the racially motivated murder of Kelso Cochrane in London. In the wake of the Notting Hill riots in 1958, she co-founded the Association for the Advancement of Coloured People. The Notting Hill race riots were a series of racially motivated disturbances. After an incident on the 29th of August, a mob of 300 to 400 white people were seen attacking the houses of West Indian residents. Attacks continued every night until 5 September. A "Caribbean Carnival", precursor of the Notting Hill Carnival was held on 30 January 1959 in St Pancras Town Hall, as a response to the riots and the state of race relations in Britain at the time.

the first Black female broadcaster at the BBC Una Marson the first Black female broadcaster at the BBC (6 February 1905 - 6 May 1965) Born in Jamaica, she arrived in London in 1932 and became the first Black woman to be employed by the BBC during WWII. She was a feminist, activist and writer, and produced poems, plays, and radio programmes. In 1942 she became producer of the programme “Calling the West Indies”, turning it into Caribbean Voices, which became an important forum for Caribbean literary work.

Neil Flanigan Neil Flanigan was born in Jamaica and travelled to England in 1943 to join the Royal Air Force. After seeing an advertisement for more people to join the RAF in the Jamaican Gleaner, Flanigan was persuaded to join the war effort. A few days later, he contacted his mother informing her that he was on a ship to England. At the start of his service in Britain, Flanigan completed eight weeks of training in Cardington, the Bedfordshire home of British airships. There he was taught how to march, fire guns, carry equipment and more. He said that, as a devout Christian, firing guns on Good Friday was a challenge for him during his war service.

Sam Beaver King MBE (20 February 1926 – 17 June 2016) A Jamaican-British campaigner. He first came to England as an engineer in the RAF during the Second World War but returned to Jamaica in 1947. Failing to settle there, King took passage to London on the famous 1948 Empire Windrush sailing. He later became the first black mayor of Southwark and a campaigner in support of West Indian immigrants to the country.

Lord Herman Baron Ouseley Herman George Ouseley, Baron Ouseley (born 24 March 1945) is a British parliamentarian, who has run public authorities, including local councils and is an adviser and reviewer of public services organisations. Lord Ouseley has expertise in equality and diversity issues and is the Chairperson of several charitable organisations as well as being a Patron for dozens of organisations. He has been at the forefront of challenging institutional racism in organisations and is an advocate on behalf of individuals from disadvantaged and deprived backgrounds. He sits in the House of Lords as a crossbencher. He was also included in the 100 Great Black Britons.

David Case Air Commodore David Case is the highest ranking black officer in the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom, and as of 2000, at the age of 47, he became the highest ranking black officer ever to serve in Britain's armed forces.

LEST WE FORGET How many did you recognise? How many were you already aware of? Each of them has made some valuable contribution to society. Much of this information was gleaned from easily available sources—  Wikipedia and so on. But that doesn’t mean that these individuals are well remembered. And there are countless others I could have referenced. The notion of integration in society is important. But many of these people existed in times when their British nationality was questioned and challenged. And in this day and age where partisanship is rife, where borders are being redrawn, walls are being erected and divisions are being established, it’s important to remember how the fabric of our society is a something like a patchwork quilt, made up of people from various different backgrounds, and we’re stronger for that diversity.