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100 Great Black Britons

100 Great Black Britons is a poll that was first undertaken in 2003 to vote for and celebrate the greatest Black Britons of all time. Here we ask questions about some of the people in that list. Mary Seacole, a nurse who helped soldiers, topped the list.


Questions

  1. Which English writer's debut novel was in 2000, with White Teeth?
  2. Which Trinidad and Tobago born newsreader was knighted in 1999 for his services to journalism?
  3. Which British singer and songwriter released her debut single "Dreams" in 1993?
  4. The first black leader of a major British trade union, who was General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union from 1992 to 2003?
  5. Which British Labour Party politician was Member of Parliament for Tottenham from 1987 to his death in 2000?
  6. British singer Henry Olusegun Adeola Samuel is known professionally by what name?




  7. Denise Lewis won the gold medal in the heptathlon at the 2000 Olympics in which city?
  8. Mary Jane Seacole set up the "British Hotel" - described as "comfortable quarters for sick and convalescent officers" - during which war?
  9. British musician, music producer and DJ Clifford Joseph Price is better known by what name?
  10. Who was the first black footballer to play for the senior men's England national football team?
  11. Which former presenter of Play School became a life peer in the House of Lords in 2010?
  12. In 1991, which writer won the Booker Prize with his novel The Famished Road?
  13. Desmond Douglas represented Great Britain at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and was 11 times English champion in which sport?
  14. Can you name the only female performer to have received Grammy nominations in the jazz, classical and popular music categories?
  15. Sir Lenny Henry cofounded the charity Comic Relief. What is Lenny an abreviation for?
  16. Which English politician was made Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs in 2021?
  17. Which fashion designer's label was born with the launch of ready-to-wear collections in 1975?
  18. By what name is British singer and rapper Niomi Arleen McLean-Daley better known?
  19. British writer and dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah played the role of preacher Jeremiah "Jimmy" Jesus in which BBC drama?
  20. Who did Frank Bruno beat at Wembley Stadium in 1995 to win the WBC world heavyweight title?
  21. Who was chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, from 2007 to 2012?
  22. In 1959, who became the first Welsh person to gain a number-one single on the UK Singles Chart?
  23. Who was the first black model to appear on the front covers of Time and British Vogue?
  24. Rose Josephine Hudson-Wilkin is the first black woman to become a what in England?
  25. By what name is Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. known professionally?

Answers

  1. Zadie Smith
  2. Sir Trevor McDonald
  3. Gabrielle
  4. Bill Morris
  5. Bernie Grant
  6. Seal
  7. Sydney Olympics (2000)
  8. Crimean War
  9. Goldie
  10. Viv Anderson
  11. Floella Benjamin
  12. Ben Okri
  13. Table tennis
  14. Cleo Laine
  15. Lenworth
  16. David Lammy
  17. Bruce Oldfield's
  18. Ms. Dynamite
  19. Peaky Blinders
  20. Oliver McCall
  21. Trevor Phillips
  22. Shirley Bassey
  23. Naomi Campbell
  24. A bishop (a Church of England bishop)
  25. Stormzy