Stephen Bourne (born 31 October 1957) is a British writer, film and social historian specialising in Black heritage and gay culture.
Career
He was a research officer at the
British Film Institute on a project that documented the history of Black people in British television.[1]
In 2014, Bourne's book Black Poppies: Britain's Black Community and the Great War[2] was published by
The History Press.[3] Reviewing it in The Independent,
Bernardine Evaristo said: "Until historians and cultural map-makers stop ignoring the historical presence of people of colour, books such as this one provide a powerful, revelatory counterbalance to the whitewashing of British history."[4]
Following the publication of the
Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities in March 2021, Bourne revealed he was listed as a contributor to the report without his knowledge, stating that he felt manipulated.[5][6][7]
Awards
In 2002 Bourne received the Metropolitan Police Volunteer Award for his work as independent adviser on critical incidents. In 2013 Bourne was nominated for a Southwark Heritage
Blue Plaque for his work as a community historian and Southwark Police independent adviser.[8] He came second with 1,025 votes.[citation needed]
Bourne's radio appearances have included Miss Lou at RADA (2005) with
Yvonne Brewster, Raising the Bar (2015) with Sir
Lenny Henry, From Shame to Pride (2017), The Film Programme (2018), Last Word (2019), The Secret History of a School (2019), Front Row (2019) and Four Thought (2020) all for
BBC Radio 4; Free Thinking (2021) for BBC Radio 3; The Raw Pearl Bailey (2018) for
BBC Radio 2; and Robert Elms Show (2019) for
BBC Radio London. His television appearances include Black Divas (
Channel 4, 1996); American Masters – Paul Robeson: Here I Stand (1999); The One Show (
BBC1, 2013 and 2020 (Black History Month special); The Culture Show: Swingin' into the Blitz (
BBC2, 2016) and Home Front Heroes (More4, 2016).[citation needed]
"Denying Her Place: Hattie McDaniel's Surprising Acts", in P. Cook and P. Dodd (eds), Women and Film: A Sight and Sound Reader,
Scarlet Press, 1993,
ISBN1-85727-081-9
"Secrets and Lies: Black Histories and British Historical Films", in C. Monk and A. Sargeant (eds), British Historical Cinema,
Routledge, 2002,
ISBN0-415-23810-2
"Behind the Masks: Anthony Asquith and Brian Desmond Hurst", in R. Griffiths (ed.), British Queer Cinema,
Routledge, 2006,
ISBN0-415-30779-1