News / Powerlist
Rees and Olusoga named among most influential Black people in UK
An annual publication that was first published in 2007 in a bid to provide professional role models for young people of African and African Caribbean heritage has named two men from Bristol on its latest list of the UK’s most influential Black people.
Bristol mayor Marvin Rees and historian David Olusoga are both on the Powerlist 2022.
The latest Powerlist is topped by Jacky Wright, chief digital officer and corporate vice-president of Microsoft; with the top-ten also including footballer Marcus Rashford and actor Michaela Coel.
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Rees and Olusoga have both previously featured on the list, but they have only gained in national prominence over the last 12 months.
Mayor Rees is described as “a unifying and hugely respected voice on race and class”, while the Powerlist says that Olusoga “has made it his life’s mission to battle misconceptions and uncover ‘hidden’ histories”.
The annual list is compiled by a number of judges after Powerful Media receive nominations from potential new nominees.
Their definition of the word influence is “the ability to positively alter events and change lives as demonstrated over a reasonable period of time”.
Main photos: Edinburgh TV Festival / BBC
Read more: David Olusoga: ‘If you can run Bristol, you can run a TV channel’
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