– Overview William Brown William Brown [c.1789 – 1835] In 1815 it was discovered that Seaman William Brown was a Black woman who had secretly disguised herself as a man in order to serve in the British Royal Navy. During the 18th and 19th centuries, it wasn’t unheard of for a woman to pass herself […]
Black Plaque Project
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– Overview Sarah Baartman Sarah Baartman 1789 – 1815 Sarah Baartman, “The Hottentot Venus”, was a 19th-century British cultural phenomenon. “Hottentot” was the offensive term for the indigenous Khoikhoi people of South Africa, and “Venus” was for her steatopygic body type. Baartman was paraded as an erotic freak show attraction in London and Paris, becoming […]
– Overview Robert Wedderburn Robert Wedderburn (1762 – 1835) Jamaican-born Robert Wedderburn was a 19th-century political firebrand, a radical preacher, and through his publications, a tireless campaigner against slavery. Wedderburn lived an extraordinary life in the slums of Georgian and Regency London during the insurrectionary ferment of the French wars and Reform agitation, working successively […]
– Overview Phil Lynott Phil Lynott [1949 – 1986] Phil Lynott was the iconic lead vocalist of the band Thin Lizzy and the writer of the global hit song “The Boys Are Back in Town”. The Irish singer, musician and songwriter was born in the West Midlands but grew up in Dublin with his grandparents. […]
– Overview Mona Baptiste Mona-Baptise Mona Baptiste [1928 – 1993] was already a well-known calypso star in Trinidad before travelling first-class to Britain on the Empire Windrush in 1948. It did not take her long to start her London career, appearing on the BBC’s Light Programme just weeks after arriving and becoming a regular artist […]
– Overview Miriam Makeba Zensile Miriam Makeba, 1932 – 2008 Zenzile Miriam Makeba, best known as Mama Africa, was South Africa’s preeminent singer, delighting the world with her repertoire of traditional Xhosa and Zulu songs. She was also a prominent civil rights activist and, because of her criticism of the Apartheid regime, one of South […]