Letter to the Sunday Times
Since William Shakespeare appeared on the £20 note in 1970, our banknotes have featured figures from our past — those who, in the Bank of England’s words, “have shaped UK society through their thought innovation, leadership or values”.
Ethnic minority communities represent 14% of the British population. We do not lack candidates, and arguably their achievements were the greater for having been made at a time when many careers and were effectively closed to them through colonial rules, racism or the legacy of slavery. However, no one from an ethnic minority has yet featured on a banknote.
Changing this would send a message that the contribution of ethnic minorities to Britain’s history, culture and economy is recognised and valued. What better representation of “global Britain” could there be?
Public institutions should reflect modern Britain. Last year the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, spoke of the need for inclusiveness. We ask him to stand by those words and actively seek strong ethnic minority candidates to feature on the next reissue of any banknote.
Zehra Zaidi
Patrick Vernon OBE
Susie Symes, Chair of the Museum of Immigration
Omar Khan, Director, Runnymede Trust
Sunder Katwala, Director, British Future
David Oyelowo OBE, actor and producer
Adrian Lester OBE, actor and director
Amma Asante MBE, director and screenwriter
Gemma Chan, actress
Meera Syal CBE
Sanjeev Bhaskar OBE, Actor, Broadcaster and Comedian
Adil Ray OBE, Actor, Writer & Broadcaster
Babou Ceesay, actor
Art Malik, actor
Benjamin Zephaniah, Poet, Novelist, Musician, Actor and Notaphilist
Lemn Sissay MBE, author and broadcaster
June Sarpong MBE
Afua Hirsch, writer, broadcaster, and former barrister
Deeyah Khan (Filmmaker and founder of sister-hood magazine)
Ammo Talwar MBE, CEO Punch Records
Jessica Malik, Producer
Marlon Palmer, Chief Executive, Kush Films
Jermaine Jackman (winner of The Voice 2014)
George The Poet
Sabrina Mahfouz, multi award-winning writer, poet and activist
Salena Godden, poet, performer and author
Shirley J. Thompson, Composer, Artistic Director & Conductor
Michelle Gayle, singer, songwriter, actress and author
Freya Bramble-Carter, Ceramic Artist
Sunny Singh, author and academic
Nikesh Shukla, Writer, Editor and Columnist
Sharmaine Lovegrove, Publisher, Dialogue Books|Little, Brown
Margaret Bugsby OBE, publisher, writer and broadcaster
Patrice Lawrence, Author
Shelina Janmohamed, writer and author of “Love in a Headscarf”
Trevor Phillips, OBE
Wanda Wyporska, Executive Director, The Equality Trust
Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, Founder & Director of UK Black Pride
Keith Harris OBE, Managing Director, Keith Harris Music Ltd. and Chair of the UK Music Equality and Diversity Taskforce
Dawn Hill CBE, Chair of Black Cultural Archives
Uzo Iwobi OBE, Chief Executive Officer, Race Council Cymru
Campbell Robb, Chief Executive, Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Housing Trust
Javed Khan, CEO Barnardos
Catherine Anderson, CEO of The Jo Cox Foundation
Karen Blackett OBE, WPP UK Country Manager, Chairwoman MediaCom UK & Ireland
Satbir Singh, Chief Executive, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI)
Pen Mendonça, Graphic Facilitator, Cartoonist and Academic
Hussein Al-Alak, Editor of Iraq Solidarity News
Lord Victor Adebowale CBE, Chief Executive of Turning Point
Professor Dame Alison Peacock, CEO Chartered College of Teaching
Professor Frank Chinegwundoh MBE
Rob Berkeley MBE, BlackOutUK
Clenton Farquharson MBE, Campaigner for Social Justice and Disability Rights
Kate Edwards, Chief Executive, Seven Stories: The National Centre for Children’s Books
Sir David Carter, Educational Leader (former National Schools Commissioner)
Francesca Klug OBE, Professor Emeritus at the London School of Economics
Professor Jonathan Portes, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at King’s College London and former Chief Economist at Cabinet Office and Department for Work and Pensions
Pinky Lilani CBE DL
Margot Finn, Professor of Modern British History, UCL and President, Royal Historical Society
Michael I. Ohajuru, Senior Fellow, Institute of Commonwealth Studies and The John Blanke Project
Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE, Director, The Africa Centre
Raj Tulsiani, CEO and Co-Founder of Green Park, Executive Search and Interim Management Consultancy
Zrinka Bralo, CEO of Migrants Organise
Miranda Brawn, Founder of The Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Foundation
Professor Olivette Otele (first black female professor of history)
Lara Ratnaraja, Cultural Consultant
Iman Atta OBE, Director, Tell MAMA
Fiyaz Mughal OBE, Director, Faith Matters
Binita Kane, Consultant Physician and Lead for the National Partition Commemoration Campaign
Akeela Ahmed MBE, Founder, She Speaks We Hear and Chair of the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group
Sarah Garrett MBE, Diversity & Inclusion Specialist, CEO & Entrepreneur
Peter Hay CBE, Trustee, Social Care Institute for Excellence
Professor Shirley Anne Tate, Director of Centre for Race and Education, Leeds Beckett University
Catherine Ross, Founder & Director, The National Caribbean Heritage Museum
Lynda-Louise Burrell, Creative Director, The National Caribbean Heritage Museum
Selena Carty, Genealogist & Founder, BlackPoppyRose
Tony Warner, Director, Black History Walks
Jacqueline McKenzie, Windrush Action
Aisha Richards, Director, Shades of Noir
Pran Patel, Educator, Leader & Activist
Amina Lone, Co-Director, The Social Action and Research Foundation
Aisha Ali-Khan, Asian Mums Network
Zubeda Limbada, Director, ConnectFutures
Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, Lawyer and Political & Women’s Rights Activist
Raja Miah, Director, Cities of Hope
Matthew Green, Principal Consultant, PolicyWorks
Jaz Rabadia MBE, Chartered Engineer Manager, Mechanical Engineer, STEM Ambassador, Women of the Future Ambassador
Paul Sesay, Founder of National Diversity Awards/Inclusive Top 50 UK Companies
Professor Jeremy Till, Head of Central Saint Martins, Pro Vice-Chancellor Research, University of the Arts, London
Dan Byrne-Smith, Senior Lecturer in Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London
Afsana Lachaux, Women’s Rights Campaigner
Chris Doyle, Director, Caabu (Council for Arab-British Understanding)
Joseph Willits, Parliamentary and Events Officer, Caabu (Council for Arab-British Understanding)
H.A. Hellyer, Senior Associate Fellow, Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, London
Tariq Modood MBE, Professor of Sociology, Politics and Public Policy, University of Bristol and founding director of the Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship
Kasia Murawska-Muthesius, Art Historian
Mariam Khan, Editor of “It’s Not About the Burqa”
Henna Rai, Director and Founder, WARN: Women Against Radicalisation Network
Hifsa Haroon-Iqbal MBE DL, Association of British Muslims
Yasmin Rehman, Women’s Rights Activist
Ali Harris, Chief Executive, Equality and Diversity Forum
Julie Jaye Charles, CEO of the Equalities National Council
Mohammed Abbasi, Association of British Muslims
Joel Blake OBE, businessman
Shaista Gohir OBE, Executive Director, Muslim Women’s Network UK
Nazmin Akthar, Chair of Muslim Women’s Network UK
Mustafa Field MBE, Director, Faiths Forum for London
Hayyan Ayaz Bhabha, Executive Director of Muslims in WW1 and Co-Founder of the APPG for British Muslims
Irfan Malik, GP, WW1 Historian & World Wars Muslim Memorial Trustee
Qari Muhammad Asim, Imam, Makkah Mosque
Shrabani Basu, Author, Historian & Chair of the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust
Nasar Iqbal, Director, Black Country Innovate C.I.C.
Dilwar Hussain, Chair, New Horizons in British Islam
Rabiha Hannan, Co-Founder & Trustee of New Horizons in British Islam
Naved Siddiqi, Trustee, New Horizons in British Islam
Professor Damien Page, Dean of Carnegie School of Education, Leeds Beckett University
Zita Holbourne, National Co-Chair of Black Activists Rising Against The Cuts (BARAC) UK
Ebinehita Iyere, Youth Worker and Campaigner
Alison Kriel, Education and Leadership Consultant
Gwen Moulster OBE, Consultant LD Nurse
Christopher Goodey, Historian
Nicola Wright, Assistant Professor in Mental Health Nursing, University of Nottingham
Seamus Oates CBE, Chief Executive Officer, TBAP Multi-Academy Trust
Linda Jordon, Campaigner for Social Justice
Hannah Wilson, Executive Headteacher, Aureus School & Aureus Primary School
Sameena Choudry, Founder of Equitable Education Ltd and National Leader, Womened
Vivienne Porritt, Vice-President, Chartered College of Teaching, National Leader, Womened
Sylvan Baker, Artist, Lecturer and Applied Arts Researcher in Social Justice and Black Studies
Viv Grant, Executive Coach and Director of Integrity Coaching
Nadine Benjamin, Soprano singer
Jessica Kingsley, Publisher
Faith Gordon, Academic and Director, International Youth Justice Network
John Mayford, Director, Olmec
Junior Smart, Founder of SOS Project (St Giles Trust), Academic, Social Entrepreneur & Innovator
Professor Imogen Tyler, Social Theorist and Sociologist
Jim Thomas, Director, Longhouse Management and Music Managers Forum UK Committee
Tina Coldham, Mental Health Campaigner, Chair of NIHR (National Institute for Health Research) Involve Advisory Group
Abda Khan, Author and Lawyer
Ruth Ibegbuna, Founder Reclaim Project and Roots Programme
Minh Dang, Executive Director of Survivor Alliance, Advocate and Artist, Member of University of Nottingham Rights Lab
Sajda Mughal OBE, CEO JAN Trust
Leroy Logan MBE
Gillian Evans, WeAreAllWindrush Campaign
Fola Evans-Akingbola, WeAreAllWindrush Campaign
Professor Sir Geoff Palmer DSc OBE
Carolyn Robson CBE, CEO of the Mead Educational Trust, National Leader of Education
Ame Ekhaguere, Diverse Histories
Joyce Fraser, Chair of Black Heroes Foundation
Marika Sherwood, Chair, BASA
Elwaldo Romeo, Chair of Windrush Action Professor Uduak Archibong MBE, Professor of Diversity, Centre for Inclusion and Diversity, Bradford University
Carrie Symonds, Ocean Conservationist
Nick Denys, Co-Founder, Tory Workers
Marion Wadibia, CEO, NAZ Project London
Iolanda Banu Viegas, Portuguese Consul General for Wales and Director of CLPW
Mete Coban, CEO, Mylifemysay
Abdi Omar, Motivational Speaker, Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) Specialist
Annette Neary, Consultant General Physician
Shauket Fazil, Principal, Birmingham Quran Academy
Abdullah Rehman MBE, Bahu Trust
Elizabeth Henry, National Adviser, The Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns (CMEAC), Church of England
Friar Timothy Radcliffe OP, Consultor to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, The Vatican
Kanwal Toor, Creative Director, Jadau
Professor Imran Awan, Deputy Director of the Centre for Applied Criminology, Birmingham City University
Dr Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor, Research Fellow in Faith and Peaceful Relations, Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR), Coventry University
Penny Rabiger, BAMEed, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Educators
Amjad Ali, BAMEed, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Educators
Allana Gay, BAMEed, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Educators
Saqib Bhatti, President of the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce
Carol Stewart, Chairperson, Medway African and Carribean Association
Alison Kriel, Education Leader
Nicholas Webb, Policy & Public Relations Consultant
Susan James , Pobl Academy Lead, Pobl Group
Meena Patel, Southall Black Sisters
Nazek Ramadan, Director, Migrant Voice
Tamina Mir, Women Buzz Net
Adam Sykes, Managing Director of Liverpoint Software Solutions Ltd.
Mary Macleod
The Rt Hon Ed Vaizey MP, former Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy
Tom Tugendhat MP, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi
Baroness Elizabeth Berridge
George Freeman MP, Founder of Big Tent Ideas Festival
The Rt. Hon. David Davis MP
Helen Grant MP, Conservative Party Vice Chairman (Communities)
Syed Kamall MEP
Rachel Stone, Chief of Staff to Syed Kamall MEP
Lord Herman Ouseley and Chairman of Kick It Out
The Rt Hon David Lammy MP
Clive Lewis MP
Stella Creasy MP
Kate Green OBE MP
Shaista Aziz, Labour Councillor (Oxford), Journalist & Equalities Campaigner
Layla Moran MP
Baroness Floella Benjamin, OBE
Caroline Lucas MP
Lord Mayor of Bristol, Councillor Cleo Lake
Hannah Peaker, Chief of Staff of the Women’s Equality Party
Sandi Toksvig, Co-founder of the Women’s Equality Party, comedian and broadcaster
Catherine Mayer, President and Co-founder of the Women’s Equality Party
Harini Iyengar, Spokesperson for the Women’s Equality Party
Cathy Newman, Journalist, Presenter of Channel 4 News and Author of “Bloody Brilliant Women”
Jane Merrick, Political Commentator
David Aaronovitch, Journalist and Broadcaster
Matthew d’Ancona, Editor-in-Chief, Drugstore Culture and political columnist
Ayesha Hazarika MBE, Broadcaster, Columnist & Comedian
Yasmin Alibhai Brown, Journalist & Author
Marcus Ryder, Chief International Editor, CGTN Digital
Stephen Bush, Politics Editor, New Statesman
Sunny Hundal, editor-in-chief, Barfi Culture
Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, Editor of gal-dem
Samantha Asumadu, Media Diversified
Sam Smethers, Chief Executive Fawcett Society
Simon Woolley, Director, Operation Black Vote
Fazia Shaheen, Director of CLASS
David Goodhart, Founder of the Integration Hub, Policy Exchange
Polly Mackenzie, Chief Executive, Demos
Ryan Shorthouse, CEO, Bright Blue
Caroline Squire, Director, Conservative Friends of International Development
Kulveer Ranger, Co-founder of Modern Britain
Binita Mehta-Parmar, Director, Modern Britain