11 people making Black History today!

Lewis Wedlock is an academic, author, and masculinities educator from Bristol, England. His work centers around exploring and challenging structures that limit pathways to expressing magnificence, such as the global issues of misogyny and patriarchy that have plagued this world. He wholeheartedly believes in compassionately cultivating communities. He uses his platform to speak to education and youth sector professionals about how they can have conversations with boys about male violence against women and girls. Misogyny, patriarchy, and male violence against women and girls aren’t things that can be tackled in isolation. The work that Lewis does addresses all of these topics and more, and how they overlap with racism, incel culture, homophobia, and discrimination.

Kim Emenike is the Senior Programme Manager at the Department for Education, but you would never guess that she grew up in care. She advocates for care-experienced individuals just like the ones we support in YPSA. She is an advocate for the Care Experienced Community and is a youth voice contractor for the Participation People. She has recently written her first book, The Insider’s Guide to Foster Care: What Care Leavers Need You to Know. Kim works tirelessly to make sure care-experienced voices don’t go unheard. She believes that the system is “broken” and she is determined to do her part to fix it!

Shane Grant is Lewisham’s Young Mayor for 25/26. His manifesto centres on three main areas: Enterprise and jobs for young people, faith and community cohesion, and parks and improved public spaces. Shane’s deputy is Jimaine Lee. These 14-year-old black boys have a weekly meeting with youth advisors who help shape policy, allocate budget, and run youth-led projects. They have worked to reopen youth clubs that have been shut down and create more spaces for young people. We could all learn something from this incredible example. 

We had the pleasure of meeting Louise Lyons-Appiah during our Youth in Mind Conference in 2024. Alongside other young people from the Young Changemakers partnership, she interviewed our keynote speaker, Kay Rufai. Now, she is the co-founder of Synkora Consulting, a youth-led Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) consultancy. Louise has continued to make waves within the EDI space with her impeccable public speaking and her nuanced approach.

Cach Mercer won the 2025 Love Island with Toni Laites. Instead of going down the traditional route of former Love Island stars, he became the newest ambassador for Young Minds UK. At the start of October, the dancer and influencer launched a campaign featuring Black and Asian boys about why it is important to speak about their emotions. Mental health is a stigmatised topic, and this becomes heightened in racialised communities, especially within the black community. During the Love Island series, Cach was praised by many for his vulnerability, emotional intelligence, and reflectiveness, which are often traits that we don’t get to see young black men portraying on reality TV.

Munya Chawawa is known for being a satirist, comedian, filmmaker, and social media star, but did you know that in October, he started the Black Boys Theatre Club? This community-led initiative aims to open up the world of theatre to a new generation of young Black boys, inspired by Chawawa’s own experience of discovering the medium, but rarely seeing himself represented on stage. BBTC will collaborate with several schools in the London area, with support from such organisations as Nando’s, National Theatre, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, and Bush Theatre, to combine theatre trips with Chawawa with behind-the-scenes access to the industry for 15 and 16-year-olds. These experiences will finish with a debrief at Nando’s, where the boys can discuss the play and its themes with Chawawa.

Cat Burns is a singer, songwriter, and queer icon. Her music isn’t only filled with beautiful melodies, but it continues to uplift and talk openly about the struggles and joys of queer relationships and her experiences of blackness. She is very open on TikTok about her neurodivergence and has become a beacon of hope for many black girls who are statistically diagnosed in their adulthood. You can also currently see her on BBC One’s Celebrity Traitors.

Faustine Petron, along with the rest of the Make It Mandatory team, held an event in parliament with Amnesty Feminists. The team of four also consists of Ithar Ghalifa and Darius Smith. Earlier in October, they brought together industry professionals such as the End Violence Against Women Coalition, NAMSS, and Everyone’s invited into one space to hear powerful testimony as to why they want RSE to be extended to 18. This grassroots campaign started right here in Oxfordshire, and we are so proud to see how far this campaign has reached.

This is just a small snapshot into a few incredible black people in our country and county who are doing great things to support the futures of young people and to stand firm in pride and power. Black history is a part of the tapestry that makes up the country we all get to live in right now.

Who is a Black person today that inspires you?