Black British Voices Project

Black British Voices launch event at the House of Commons

An ambitious first-in-kind research project designed to investigate a significantly neglected area of contemporary British society, namely the shifting valences of Black British identities.


Research theme: Politics and Inequality

Funding: The Jamaica National Group, Black Equity Organisation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Project duration: 2020-25

Project website: www.bbvp.org/


The Black British Voices Project is an innovative research collaboration between the Department of Sociology, I-Cubed and The Voice Newspaper, with the goal of delivering an authentic community-driven narrative on how it feels to be Black and British. The first phase of the project consisted of a groundbreaking national survey and public campaign supported by M&C Saatchi and The Jamaica National Group. 
 

Combining over 10,000 voices from Black communities across the UK, the first project report launched at a House of Commons event on 29 Sept 2023, hosted by Abena Oppong-Asare MP and supported by the Black Equity Organisation. The second phase of the project is supported by funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Findings

The first BBVP report provides a nuanced and comprehensive account of the experience of being Black in Britain, combining a national survey of 10,000 Black Britons with in-depth interviews of leading Black British commentators, including politicians, celebrities, writers, journalists and businesspeople. Amongst many important findings, some of the headline statistics are:

  • Just 3% feel supported by the Government in relation to the challenges they face
  • Fewer than 2% feel fairly treated within the healthcare system
  • Fewer than 2% think British educational institutions are taking the issue of racial difference seriously

Read our first report summary


Core team (Phase 1, report)

  • Dr Kenny Monrose (Wolfson College, University of Cambridge)
  • Maggie Smith (I-Cubed)
  • Paula Dyke (The Voice)
  • Professor Sarah Franklin (Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge)
  • Joseph Cotton (Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge)

Core team (Phase 2, workshops)

  • Dr Kenny Monrose (Wolfson College, University of Cambridge)
  • Maggie Smith (I-Cubed)
  • Mya Imadojemun (Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge)
  • Elmira Kakabayeva (Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge)