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Patrick Vernon OBE
Professor Patrick Vernon OBE is a historian, travel writer, cultural genealogist, and award-winning filmmaker whose work explores Black diasporic history, memory, and identity through journeys across Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and the United States. With more than thirty years of leadership experience across public health, heritage, and race equality, Patrick is widely recognised for his ability to connect historical insight with contemporary debates on identity, migration, and social justice.
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He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Imperial War Museum, reflecting his contribution to public history and the recovery of underrepresented narratives. Patrick is also a Winston Churchill Fellow and a Clore Cultural Leadership Fellow, which have supported his international research across the African diaspora. His work combines archival research, oral history, DNA evidence, and travel narrative to uncover hidden histories.
Patrick is the founder of Every Generation Media and co-founder of the 100 Great Black Britons campaign, which reshaped national conversations about Black contribution and belonging in Britain. He played a leading role in securing the establishment of National Windrush Day in 2018 and was among the earliest campaigners to expose the Windrush Scandal.
In recognition of his influence and leadership, Patrick was named in the Black Powerlist from 2020 to 2025 and was included in British Vogue’s Top 20 Campaigners in 2020. He was awarded an OBE in 2012 for services to health equity and has received numerous honours including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sheila McKechnie Foundation.
Alongside his public history work, Patrick is an award-winning filmmaker. His documentaries A Charmed Life (2008) and Speak Out and Stand Firm (2010) explore Black British history, identity, and resistance.
His public service includes serving as Chair of NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board (2023–2025) and he currently chairs the Walsall Together Partnership Board. In April 2025, he was appointed Pro-Chancellor for Health at the University of Wolverhampton.
Patrick is a compelling keynote speaker who combines powerful storytelling, historical insight, and lived experience to engage audiences across universities, conferences, cultural institutions, and leadership forums.
Patrick’s Keynote’s:
- Journeying: Travel, Memory and the Black Diaspora
Exploring how travel can uncover hidden histories and reconnect diasporic communities with their past. - Windrush, Belonging and the Struggle for Justice
A personal and historical account of the Windrush generation, the scandal, and lessons for Britain today. - 100 Great Black Britons: Rewriting National History
How recovering overlooked histories transforms how we understand Britain. - Health Inequalities and Race: Lessons from the Frontline
Insights from decades of work in public health, mental health and social justice. - Leadership, Campaigning and Social Change
What it takes to build movements that change national conversations and policy. - Cultural Genealogy: Reclaiming Diasporic Identity
How archives, DNA, oral history, and travel help reconstruct lost histories.
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Patrick Vernon OBE
