Such perfect timing for Black History Month in the UK and the 40th Anniversary of Black Cultural Archives – the only national heritage centre dedicated to collecting, preserving, and celebrating the histories of African and Caribbean people in Britain.
TfL and BCA have launched The London Transport Tube map reimagined with tube lines renamed to represent over 270 Black icons across the ages: Pre-Tudor, Georgian, and Victorian, to present times. Also including their very own Len Garrison 1943 – 2003 noted at Warren Street who was an Educationalist, community activist, and historian.
This map serves to celebrate the rich and varied contribution African and Caribbean people have made to British life over the last two thousand years.
A Brief
List of Icons on the Black History Tube Map
A
AG Minns 1858 – 1930
Croxley
Medical doctor and the first Black mayor in Britain
Ade Bashorun 1916 – 2002
Alperton
Nigerian Percussionist
Africanus Horton 1835 – 1883
Harrow-on-the-Hill
Writer and esteemed medical surgeon, at the time he was called the ‘father of of African political thought’
Ambrose Campbell 1919 – 2006
Arnos Grove
Nigerian musician who formed Britain’s first black band
Amryl Johnson 1944 – 2001
Highbury & Islington
Writer whose works featured the diasporic nature of her life and the hostility she faced in Britain
Amy A Garvey 1897 – 1969
Archway
Pan-African Activist, founder of the Negro World newspaper and wife of Marcus Garvey
B
BLK Arts Group 1979
Oxford Circus
Black arts collective formed in Wolverhampton
Barbara Burford 1944 – 2010
Bermondsey
Medical researcher, civil servant, and writer, with an award in her name to recognise LGBT invididuals who have excelled in their field
Baron Baker 1925 – 1996
Belsize Park
Campaigner for racial justice and known as the ‘man who discovered Brixton’ and with others established a black community in the area
Ben Enwonwu 1914 – 1994
White City
Painter and sculptor, celebrated as ‘Africa’s Greatest Artist’
Black Cultural Archives 1981 – present
Brixton
The only national heritage centre dedicated to collecting, preserving, and celebrating the histories of African and Caribbean people in Britain
Briton Hammon Dates Unknown
Mansion House
His autobiography published in 1760 and considered to be the first enslaved narrative for a Black American, recounts his imprisonment, daring escapes, and travel to the UK before returning to the US
Buchi Emecheta 1944 – 2017
Walthamstow Central
Novelist and author of more than 20 books
C
CLR James 1901 – 1989
Euston
Historian, journalist, and Marxist whose novel was the first to be published by a Black West Indian in 1936
Cab Kaye 1921 – 2000
Hatton Cross
Jazz singer and pianist who combined jazz techniques with his Ghanian heritage. His refusal to play when a patron was refused entry to one of his shows due to their race led to regular acceptance of Black people at public UK venues
Chinwe Chukwuogo-Roy 1952 – 2012
Bethnal Green
Visual artist and one of two Nigerian-born artists to paint official portraits Queen Elizabeth II
Christian F Cole 1852 – 1885
Dagenham East
Sierra Leonese lawyer and the first African barrister to practice in English courts
Claudia Jones 1915 – 1964
Camden Town
Journalist and Communist political activist. Founder of Britain’s first major black newspaper, the West Indian Gazette and a co-founder of Notting Hill Carnival
D
David Pitt 1913 – 1994
Ruislip
Politician, general practitioner, and political activist
Davidson Nicol 1924 – 1994
North Harrow
Academic, physician, diplomat, poet, and writer
Dorothy Kuya 1932 – 2013
Chalk Farm
Human rights activist was involved in establishing Liverpool’s International Slavery Museum and served as chair of London housing association Ujima which became the largest Black-led social enterprise in Europe
E
Edmund Jenkins 1894 – 1926
Knightsbridge
American composer during the Harlem Renaissance who studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and composed the award-winning African War Dance
Esther Bruce 1912 – 1994
Hornchurch
A seamstress whose autobiography became the first to document the life of a Black working-class woman in Britain
F
Fanny Coker 1767 – 1820
Barbican
Freed woman who was based in Bristol
Felix Hercules 1888 – 1930s
Clapham North
Journalist, Pan-Africanist, and one of the founders of the Society for Peoples of African Origin and the African Progress Union
G
George Africanus c1763 – 1834
Edgware Road (Circle)
Won his freedom from enslavement and then became Nottingham’s first Black entrepreneur
George Berry Dates Unknown
Goodge Street
London’s first black pub owner and licensee. The Coach and Horse pub in Brixton was burnt down in a racist fire attack in 1965
George Padmore 1901 – 1959
Colliers Wood
Journalist, activist, and principal organiser of the Manchester Pan-African Conference in 1945 and was an adviser to Kwame Nkrumah
H
H Sylvester-Williams 1869 – 1911
Totteridge & Whetstone
Lawyer, councillor, and writer who was involved in the Pan African Movement
Harold Jackman 1901 – 1961
Canary Wharf
British born teacher and patron of the arts who was known for his involvement in the Harlem Renaissance and gay community
Henri Jetto c1569 – 1627
Plaistow
Yeoman and first Black person to vote in Britain
I
Ignatius Sancho c1729 – 1780
Sloane Square
Abolitionist and writer
Ivor Cummings 1913 – 1992
Kilburn
Openly gay senior civil servant who devoted much of his life to serving Black citizens who arrived in the UK from Caribbean and African colonies. He was dubbed the gay father of the Windrush generation as he took charge to launch them into British life
J
Janet Adegoke 1942 – 1987
Nine Elms
First Black woman to serve as Mayor of Hammersmith and Fulham
Jerry Williams c1926 – 2017
West Finchley
Trade unionist and community worker, who later became the first Black Mayor of Camden
Jessica Huntley 1927 – 2013
Tottenham Hale
Publisher, and a women’s and community activist and founded Bogle-L’Ouverture Publications in 1969
Jocelyn Barrow 1929 – 2020
Woodside Park
Educator, community activist, and politician, who later became the first Black woman to hold the position of governor of the BBC. She also became the first Black ‘Dame’ for her services to broadcasting
John Archer 1863 – 1932
Battersea Power Station
First Black Mayor of London and founding president of the African Progress Union
John Edmonstone c1820 – 1890
Upminster Bridge
Taught taxidermy to students at the University of Edinburgh including Charles Darwin
Jon Daniel 1966 – 2017
Chigwell
Award-winning Creative Director who was responsible for branding Black History Month
K
Katherine Auker c1684 – Unknown
King’s Cross St Pancras
Took her enslaver to court in 1690 for unfair employment restrictions and won
Khadija Saye 1992 – 2017
Gants Hill
Her work as a photographer explored her Gambian-British identity. The London Transport Museum launched a photography fellowship in her name after her death in the Grenfell fire
L
Len Garrison 1943 – 2003
Warren Street
Educationalist, community activist, and historian. Founded the Black Cultural Archives in 1980 to collect, preserve and celebrate the histories of Caribbean and African people in Britain
Len Woodley 1927 – 2020
Upminster
Barrister and the first person of Afro-Caribbean heritage to become a Queen’s Counsel
Lilian Bader 1918 – 2015
Kew Gardens
One of the first black women who joined the British Armed Forces. She became a Leading Aircraft Woman and was then promoted to the rank of Corporal
Lionel Morrison 1935 – 2016
Hendon Central
Journalist and the first Black person to hold the office of the President of the National Union of Journalists
M
Marcus Garvey 1887 – 1940
High Barnet
Political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. He called for unity between Africans and the diaspora and campaigned for an end to European colonial rule across Africa
Mary Prince c1788 – 1833
West Kensington
Abolitionist, autobiographer and was the first Black woman to present an anti-slavery petition to Parliament
Mary Seacole 1805 – 1881
Northwood
Nurse and businesswoman
Mollie Hunte 1932 – 2015
Amersham
Educational Psychologist advocating for fairer treatment of black children in schools
N
Nana Bonsu 1930 – 2003
Kennington
Born Beresford Evans, he was the chairman for the Manchester branch of the Pan African Congress Movement and regional secretary for the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination, which encouraged the government to bring in the 1976 Race Relations Act
O
Olaudah Equiano c1745 – 1797
St. James’s Park
Writer and abolitionist
Olive Morris 1952 – 1979
Finchley Central
Radical activist who was heavily involved in the feminist, Black Nationalist, and squatters rights campaigns of the 1970s. She was also a founding member of Brixton Black Women’s group
P
Philip Quaque 1714 – 1816
Hammersmith
The first African to be ordained as a minister by the Church of England
Princess Ademola 1916 – present
Rickmansworth
Nigerian Princess and nurse
Princess Tshai 1919 – 1942
Finchley Road
Daughter of Emperor Haile Selassie who trained as a nurse in London and became Ethiopia’s first national nurse when she returned to her homeland
R
R B A Wellesley-Cole 1907 – 1995
Ealing Broadway
First West African to become a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in England
Ras Makonnen 1852 – 1906
Stockwell
Military leader, governor, and father of Emperor Haile Selassie
Robert Broadhurst 1859 – 1948
Clapham South
Pan-Africanist, journalist, and Vice President of the United African League
S
Sam King 1926 – 2016
Morden
Passenger on Empire Windrush who later became a campaigner for West Indians living in the UK. He also became the first Black Mayor of Southwark
Sara Baartman c1789 – 1815
Goldhawk Road
South African Khoikhoi woman who, due to European objectification of her buttocks, was exhibited as a freak show attraction in London
Shim Sham Club 1930s
Dollis Hill
Soho-based members club influenced by the Harlem Renaissance and welcomed Black, Queer and Jewish Londoners
Stuart Hall 1932 – 2014
East Ham
Sociologist, cultural theorist, and political activist who was also responsible for the first-ever cultural studies course in the UK
T
TES Scholes c1858 – 1940
Moor Park
Baptist missionary, medical doctor and political commentator. He published a critique of the Colonial Secretary’s benefits which were only available to white British subjects
The Africa Centre 1964 – present
Borough
Cultural centre initially founded as a friendly meeting place for Africans living in London
The Yaa Centre 1986 – present
Notting Hill Gate
Afro-Caribbean arts and community centre named after Yaa Asantewaa, politician, Queen, and human rights activist
U
Ukawsaw Gronniosaw c1705 – 1775
High Street Kensington
His 1772 enslaved narrative autobiography made him the first published African man in Britain
Uzo Egonu 1931 – 1996
Epping
Artist who settled in Britain after the war and whose works combined the visual language of Western and African art
V
Val McCalla 1943 – 2002
Turnham Green
Launched The Voice weekly newspaper in 1982 focussing on Black interests in Britain
Vincent Reid 1935 – 2001
South Wimbledon
Pioneering educator of African and Caribbean history
W
Walter Tull 1888 – 1918
Stonebridge Park
Professional footballer and British Army officer
William Clarke 1895 – 1981
Southfields
First Black airman to fly for Britain during WWI
An extensive list of the icon listed on the TFL Map can be found via BCA.
