DR. PATRICK VERNON OBE
Dr Partrick Vernon OBE, is a Clore and Winston Churchill Fellow, Fellow at Imperial War Museum, a fellow of Royal Historical Society. He has over thirty years’ senior experience working across mental health, public health, heritage and race equality and is well known in health, local government and the voluntary sector. He was the first director of Black Thrive a mental-health multi-agency tackling mental health in Lambeth, former non-executive director of Camden and Islington Mental Health Foundation Trust, Health Partnership Coordinator for National Housing Federation, former director of Afiya Trust, committee member of Healthwatch England, NHS England Equality Diversity Council, director of Brent Health Action Zone and regional director for MIND.
He is a former member of the Labour and the Coalition Government Ministerial Advisory for Mental Health. Dr Vernon was a former councillor in Hackney between 2006 - 2014 and was appointed by Jeremy Corbyn as Race Equalities Adviser to the Shadow Equalities Ministerial Team between 2015 to 2017. Patrick is also founder of Every Generation Media and 100 Great Black Britons, which develops education programmes, publications and films on cultural heritage and family history. Dr Vernon was made Pioneer of the Nation for Cultural History by the Queen in 2003. He is a leading expert on African and Caribbean genealogy in the UK. In 2017 was appointed editor for Black History Month magazine (2017 and 2018 magazines) and in 2018 for Windrush Commemorative magazine.
The PT show talks to society's most prominent political and racial activist about the fight for social justice and his life journey to date.
BLACK LEGACY AND ITS IMPORTANCE TO THE FOLLOWING 'GENERATIONS'
The Spotlight conversation, encompasses Dr Vernon's early life, education, public service, and his campaigning for racial equality in society. Culminating in a serious discussion about the Windrush scandal.
The political & societal historian pays tribute to the modest but powerful woman who, having been threatened with deportation herself, became a prominent Windrush campaigner. Read the tribute to Paulette Wilson from
A speech made of division and nepotism for 'White Britain' on 20th April 1968 by Enoch Powell. In the 21st century, it is still a topic of discussion and fiercely debated on both sides of the fence.