STORIES THAT CONNECT GENERATIONS
1987—2027
40 years of Black History Month in the UK
EXPLORE THE COLLECTION
Women’s lives, achievements, work, creativity, campaigning and community leadership, across different periods and countries.
Candice Carty-Williams changed the conversation around British popular fiction with *Queenie*, but her work extends far beyond one character. From publishing to novels, television and mentoring…
Hannah Lowe’s poetry and research have brought family stories, migration records and the lives of students into conversation with British history. Her father was a Black…
The Jamaican poet Jean Binta Breeze brought women’s experiences, humour, anger and reflection into performance traditions often described through male voices. Her poetry crossed the Atlantic…
Diana Ross’s career connects Detroit neighbourhood singing to international stages, cinema and the recording studio. With the Supremes and as a solo performer, she worked with…
Toni Morrison wrote about Black lives with a novelist’s attention to language, desire and the difficult work of remembering. Her journey from Ohio to the Nobel…
Dame Kelly Holmes won the Olympic 800 and 1500 metres in Athens after a career repeatedly interrupted by injury. Her route from school athletics and Army…
Pat McGrath learned to experiment with colour beside her Jamaican mother in Northampton. She went on to shape fashion photography, runway shows and international cosmetics lines,…
Beverley Knight’s career connects the gospel music of her Wolverhampton childhood with British soul, independent recording and the West End. A singer and songwriter who became…
Dame Shirley Bassey carried a voice from Cardiff’s Tiger Bay into concert halls, cinema and successive generations of popular music. Her career joins Welsh roots and…
Moira Stuart’s career reaches across television news, radio, documentaries, music and entertainment. Behind a familiar broadcasting presence lies a working life that has continually changed. Her…