Stephen Bourne (writer)

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Stephen Bourne (born 31 October 1957) is a British writer, film and social historian specialising in Black heritage and gay culture. As noted by the

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among others, Bourne "has discovered many stories that have remained untold for years". In October 2019, Booker Prize winner

Bernardine Evaristo Bernardine Anne Mobolaji Evaristo, (born 28 May 1959) is a British author and academic. Her novel '' Girl, Woman, Other'', jointly won the Booker Prize in 2019 alongside Margaret Atwood's '' The Testaments'', making her the first woman with Bla ...

voted Bourne for her

Black History Month Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently ...

hero on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

. She said: "Stephen Bourne is a hero of our history, who has published countless books, always accessible to all, on the hidden stories of our presence on these shores. Let's honour Stephen for quietly shining a light on our history." In 2019, the acclaimed writer

Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include ''Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One scien ...

('' Queer as Folk'', ''

It's a Sin "It's a Sin" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their second studio album, ''Actually'' (1987). Written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, the song was released on 15 June 1987 as the album's lead single. It became the duo's ...

'') described Bourne in his foreword to ''Playing Gay in the Golden Age of British Television'' as "one of the soldiers, gatekeepers and champions of our community. I am in awe of his diligence and insight."

Early life and education

Bourne was born in Camberwell, south-east London, and raised in Peckham. He attended Oliver Goldsmith Primary School from 1962 to 1969 and St. Michael and All Angels Secondary Modern School from 1969 to 1974. He left school educationally disadvantaged in 1974 but was encouraged to join the sixth form of Archbishop Temple's, a comprehensive school in Lambeth, from 1974 to 1975. When Temple's closed, he transferred to the sixth form of Archbishop Michael Ramsey Comprehensive School in Camberwell. Though Bourne did not do well enough to go to university, he later graduated from the

London College of Printing The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation, film, graphic design, photography and sound arts. It has approximately ...

(now known as the

London College of Communication The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation, film, graphic design, photography and sound arts. It has approximately ...

) with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in film and television in 1988, and in 2006 received a

Master of Philosophy The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil ...

degree at

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was tak ...

on the subject of the representation of gay men in British Television Drama 1936–79.Stephen Bourne page
at The History Press.

Career

After graduating in 1988, he was a research officer at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

on a ground-breaking project that documented the history of Black people in British television. The result was a two-part television documentary called ''Black and White in Colour'' (BBC 1992), directed by

Isaac Julien Sir Isaac Julien (born 21 February 1960Annette Kuhn"Julien, Isaac (1960–)" BFI Screen Online.) is a British installation artist, filmmaker, and distinguished professor of the arts at UC Santa Cruz. Early life Julien was born in the East End ...

. In 1991, Bourne was a founder member of the

Black and Asian Studies Association The Black and Asian Studies Association (BASA) was set up in London in 1991. Until October 1997 it was known as the Association for the Study of African, Caribbean and Asian Culture and History In Britain (ASACACHIB). Founder members who attended ...

with, amongst others,

Hakim Adi Hakim Adi is a British historian and scholar who specializes in African affairs. He is the first African-British historian to become a professor of history in the UK. He has written widely on Pan-Africanism and the modern political history of A ...

and

Marika Sherwood Marika Sherwood (born 1937) is a Hungarian-born historian, researcher, educator and author based in England. She is a co-founder of the Black and Asian Studies Association. Biography Sherwood was born in 1937 into a Jewish family living in Budap ...

. Since 2004 he has written more than fifty entries for the ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

''. In 1999 he undertook pioneering work with

Southwark Council Southwark London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Southwark in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. History There have previously been a numbe ...

and the Metropolitan Police as a voluntary independent adviser to the police. In 2008 he researched ''Keep Smiling Through – Black Londoners on the Home Front 1939–1945'', an exhibition for the

Cuming Museum The Cuming Museum in Walworth Road in Elephant and Castle, within the London Borough of Southwark, London, England, was a museum housing the collection of the Cuming family and later collections on Southwark's history. As of 2021, its collecti ...

in the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas ...

and that same year he worked as a historical consultant on the Imperial War Museum's ''War to Windrush'' exhibition.

Bonnie Greer Bonnie Greer, OBE FRSL (born 16 November 1948) is an American-British playwright, novelist, critic and broadcaster, who has lived in the UK since 1986. She has appeared as a panellist on television programmes such as ''Newsnight Review'' and ''Q ...

, playwright and critic, has said: "Stephen Bourne brings great natural scholarship and passion to a largely hidden story. He is highly accessible, accurate and surprising. You always walk away from his work knowing something that you didn't know, that you didn't even suspect". In 1991, Bourne co-authored ''The Sun Shone on Our Side of the Street: Aunt Esther's Story'' with Esther Bruce (his adopted aunt), which was published by the Ethnic Communities Oral History Project (ECOHP). He has written books about significant Black personalities such as

Elisabeth Welch Elisabeth Margaret Welch (February 27, 1904July 15, 2003) was an American singer, actress, and entertainer, whose career spanned seven decades. Her best-known songs were " Stormy Weather", " Love for Sale" and "Far Away in Shanty Town". She was ...

Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her no ...

Evelyn Dove Evelyn Mary Dove (11 January 1902 – 7 March 1987) was a British singer and actress, who early in her career drew comparisons with Josephine Baker. Of Sierra Leone Creole and English parentage, Dove is recognized as a "trailblazing performer": ...

and Harold Moody, as well as about different aspects of the historical Black presence in Britain. Stephen Bourne, writer

In 2014, Bourne's book ''Black Poppies: Britain's Black Community and the Great War'' was published by

The History Press The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 ...

. Reviewing it in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'',

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." A contributor to the gay press for many years, Bourne was the film critic for ''

Gay Times ''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''Gay Times Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ media brand established in 1975. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company now includes content for the LGBTQ+ comm ...

'' in the early 1990s, and in 1996 his acclaimed book ''Brief Encounters'', a survey of gay cinema in Britain, was published. In 1992 he curated ''Out of the Archives'', the first of many successful LGBT television retrospectives for

BFI Southbank BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute. His ...

. In 1995, in the London Borough of Southwark, Bourne was instrumental in setting up one of the first locally-based multi-agency forums to combat homophobic crime. Since 1999 he has been active in his community as an independent adviser to the Metropolitan Police. From 1998 to 2005, Bourne was a regular contributor to ''Black Filmmaker Magazine'' (''bfm''), the first Black film publication aimed at the global black filmmaking industry. It was founded and edited by the film-maker

Menelik Shabazz Menelik Shabazz (30 May 1954 – 28 June 2021) was a Barbados-born British film director, producer, educator, and writer, acknowledged as a pioneer in the development of independent Black British cinema, having been at the forefront of contempor ...

. 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.

Awards

In 2002 Bourne received the Metropolitan Police Volunteer Award for his work as independent adviser on critical incidents. It was presented to him by Police Commissioner

Sir John Stevens John Arthur Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, (born 21 October 1942) was Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (head of the Metropolitan Police Service) from 2000 until 2005. From 1991 to 1996, he was Chief Constable of Northum ...

at City Hall, London. In 2013 Bourne was nominated for a Southwark Heritage Blue Plaque for his work as a community historian and Southwark Police independent adviser. He came second with 1,025 votes. In June 2015, at Southwark's

Unicorn Theatre The Unicorn Theatre is a children's theatre in the London Borough of Southwark, in England. It is a custom-built, RIBA Award–winning building on Tooley Street, which opened in 2005. The theatre was designed by Keith Williams, built by Arup ...

, the Southwark Arts Forum presented Bourne with their Literature Award for ''Black Poppies''. In May 2017, he was honoured at the 12th Screen Nation Awards with a special award for his years of work documenting the lives of Black Britons in film and television. In 2017 he received an Honorary Fellowship from

London South Bank University London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough ...

for his contribution to diversity. In 2022 Bourne was shortlisted for The Society for Theatre Research book prize for ''Deep Are the Roots: Trailblazers Who Changed Black British Theatre''. On 21 May 2022 at a Civic Award ceremony in Southwark Cathedral Bourne was awarded the Freedom of Southwark.

TV and radio

Bourne's radio appearances have included ''Miss Lou at RADA'' (2005) with

Yvonne Brewster Yvonne Jones Brewster (née Clarke; born 7 October 1938) is a Jamaican actress, theatre director and businesswoman, known for her role as Ruth Harding in the BBC television soap opera '' Doctors''. She co-founded the theatre companies Talawa ...

, ''Raising the Bar'' (2015) with Sir

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer. Henry gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in '' The Le ...

, ''From Shame to Pride'' (2017), ''

The Film Programme ''The Film Programme'' was a British film review radio programme, broadcast weekly on BBC Radio 4, from 2004 to 2021, presented by Francine Stock. The programme had a number of regular contributors, including Neil Brand and Rosemary Fletcher. ...

'' (2018), ''Last Word'' (2019), ''The Secret History of a School'' (2019), '' Front Row'' (2019) and ''Four Thought'' (2020) all for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

; ''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 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

, 1996); ''American Masters – Paul Robeson: Here I Stand'' (1999); ''

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...

'' (

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

, 2013 and 2020 (Black History Month special)); ''

The Culture Show ''The Culture Show'' is a British magazine programme about books, art, film, architecture, music, visual fashion and the performing arts. The show was broadcast weekly on BBC Two between 2004 and 2015. Early history Launched in November 2004, t ...

: Swingin' into the Blitz'' ( BBC2, 2016) and ''Home Front Heroes'' (More4, 2016). In 2018, Bourne was interviewed about his Evelyn Dove photograph collection for BBC1's ''

Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people ( ...

''. In 2021, he was interviewed about

, Adelaide Hall and Ken 'Snakehips' Johnson in the series ''The Definitive History of Jazz in Britain'', presented by

Clive Myrie Clive Myrie (born 25 August 1964) is a British journalist, newsreader and presenter who works for the BBC. Since August 2021 he has been the host of the long-running BBC quiz shows ''Mastermind'' and ''Celebrity Mastermind''. Early life Myrie ...

for Jazz FM. In 2022, Bourne paid tribute to Sidney Poitier in BBC Radio 4's ''Last Word'', was interviewed about

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (15 August 18751 September 1912) was a British composer and conductor. Of mixed-race birth, Coleridge-Taylor achieved such success that he was referred to by white New York musicians as the "African Mahler" when ...

's daughter, the composer and conductor Avril Coleridge-Taylor in BBC Radio 3's ''Hidden Women and Silenced Scores'' and contributed to BBC Radio 4's ''Great Lives'' profile of Ira Aldridge. In 1993, for ''Salutations'', Bourne received a Race in the Media Award for Best Radio Documentary from the

Commission for Racial Equality The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom which aimed to address racial discrimination and promote racial equality. The commission was established in 1976, and disbanded in 2007 when its ...

(CRE). ''Salutations'' was a nine-part series which Bourne conceived and scripted for Ladbroke Radio/BBC Radio 2 that celebrated the achievements of Black African, Caribbean and British singers and musicians from the 1930s to the 1960s. Subjects included Leslie 'Hutch' Hutchinson,

Reginald Foresythe Reginald Foresythe (28 May 1907 – 28 December 1958) was a British jazz pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. Early life Foresythe was born and died in London. His father was a West African barrister of Sierra Leone Creole descent and h ...

, Leslie Thompson, Leslie 'Jiver' Hutchinson, Ken 'Snakehips' Johnson,

Cyril Blake Cyril "Midnight" Blake (22 October 1900 – 3 December 1951) was a Trinidadian jazz trumpeter. Biography Blake moved to England about 1918, where he played in a British group called the Southern Syncopated Orchestra. He worked in Paris and Lon ...

, Rudolph Dunbar,

Fela Sowande Chief Olufela Obafunmilayo "Fela" Sowande MBE (29 May 1905 – 13 March 1987) was a Nigerian musician and composer. Considered the father of modern Nigerian art music, Sowande is perhaps the most internationally known African composer of works ...

, Edric Connor,

Winifred Atwell Una Winifred Atwell (27 February or 27 April 1910 or 1914There is some uncertainty over her date and year of birth. Many sources suggest 27 February 1914, but there is a strong suggestion that her birthday was 27 April. Most sources give her ye ...

Ray Ellington Henry Pitts Brown (17 March 1916 – 27 February 1985), known professionally as Ray Ellington, was an English singer, drummer and bandleader. He is best known for his appearances on ''The Goon Show'' from 1951 to 1960. The Ray Ellington Quartet h ...

Cy Grant Cyril Ewart Lionel "Cy" Grant (8 November 1919 – 13 February 2010) was a Guyanese actor, musician, writer, and poet. In the 1950s, he became the first black person to be featured regularly on television in Britain,Kurt Barling '' The Inde ...

Geoff Love Geoffrey Love (4 September 1917 – 8 July 1991) was a prolific British arranger and composer of easy listening and pop versions of film themes. He became famous in the late 1950s, playing under the pseudonym of Manuel and The Music of The Mo ...

and Shirley Bassey. The following year Bourne received a second CRE award in the same category for ''Black in the West End'', a celebration of Black musical theatre in London's West End.

Black British theatre

Bourne has been the recipient of two research grants for Black British theatre from The Society for Theatre Research (1999) and a Wingate Scholarship (2011). He compiled a database of "Key Black Productions to 1975" for the

Theatre Museum The Theatre Museum in the Covent Garden district of London, England, was the United Kingdom's national museum of the performing arts. It was a branch of the UK's national museum of applied arts, the Victoria and Albert Museum. It opened in 1974 ...

's publication ''Black and Asian Performance at the Theatre Museum: A User's Guide'' (2003). Bourne participated in

Warwick University , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020� ...

's Shakespeare symposium with the presentation "Beyond Paul Robeson...Black British Actors and Shakespeare 1930–1965" (July 2013) and the Royal National Theatre's ''Palimpsest Talk: Symposium – A Celebration of Black Women in Theatre'' (December 2017). Bourne was interviewed in the documentary ''Margins to Mainstream: The Story of Black Theatre in Britain'' (2012). Bourne's ''Deep Are the Roots - Trailblazers Who Changed Black British Theatre'' was published by The History Press in 2021.

Publications

* ''The Sun Shone on Our Side of the Street: Aunt Esther's Story'', with Esther Bruce, ECOHP, 1991, * ''Brief Encounters: Lesbians and Gays in British Cinema 1930–71'', Cassell, 1996, * ''Aunt Esther's Story'', with Esther Bruce, ECOHP, 1996, * ''Black in the British Frame: Black People in British Film and Television 1896-1996'', Cassell, 1998, * ''A Ship and a Prayer: The Black Presence in Hammersmith and Fulham'', with Sav Kyriacou, ECOHP, 1999, * ''Black in the British Frame: The Black Experience in British Film and Television'', Cassell/Continuum, 2001, * ''Sophisticated Lady: A Celebration of Adelaide Hall'', ECOHP, 2001, * ''Elisabeth Welch: Soft Lights and Sweet Music'', Scarecrow Press, 2005, * ''Speak of Me As I Am: The Black Presence in Southwark Since 1600'', Southwark Council, 2005, * ''Ethel Waters: Stormy Weather'', Scarecrow Press, 2007, * ''Butterfly McQueen Remembered'', Scarecrow Press, 2008, * ''Dr. Harold Moody'', Southwark Council, 2008, * ''Mother Country: Britain's Black Community on the Home Front 1939–45'',

, 2010, * ''Nina Mae McKinney: The Black Garbo'', BearManor Media, 2011, * ''The Motherland Calls: Britain's Black Servicemen and Women 1939–1945'',

, 2012, * ''Esther Bruce: A Black London Seamstress'', with Esther Bruce, History and Social Action Publications, 2012, * ''Black Poppies: Britain's Black Community and the Great War'',

, 2014, * ''Evelyn Dove: Britain's Black Cabaret Queen'',

Jacaranda Books Jacaranda Books is a diversity-led British independent book publishing firm launched in 2012 and known for their effort tackling the gap between white authors and the BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) demographic in United Kingdom's p ...

, 2016, * ''Fighting Proud: The Untold Story of the Gay Men Who Served in Two World Wars'', I.B.Tauris, 2017/Bloomsbury Academic, 2019, * ''War to Windrush: Black Women in Britain 1939–1948'',

, 2018, * ''Black Poppies: Britain's Black Community and the Great War'' (2nd edition, revised and updated),

, 2019, * ''Playing Gay in the Golden Age of British Television'',

, 2019, * ''Under Fire: Black Britain in Wartime 1939-45'',

, 2020, Stephen Bourne
"Under Fire: Black Britain in Wartime 1939-45"
at Google Books. * ''Deep Are the Roots: Trailblazers Who Changed Black British Theatre'',

, 2021, * ''Black Poppies: The Story of Britain's Black Community in the First World War'' (Young Readers Edition),

, 2022

Contributor

* "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 Scarlet may refer to: * Scarlet (cloth), a type of woollen cloth common in medieval England * Scarlet (color), a bright tone of red that is slightly toward orange, named after the cloth * Scarlet (dye), the dye used to give the cloth its color * ...

, 1993, * "Secrets and Lies: Black Histories and British Historical Films", in C. Monk and A. Sargeant (eds), ''British Historical Cinema'',

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...

, 2002, * "Behind the Masks: Anthony Asquith and Brian Desmond Hurst", in R. Griffiths (ed.), ''British Queer Cinema'',

, 2006, * D. Dabydeen, J. Gilmore and C. Jones (eds), ''The Oxford Companion to Black British History'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2007,

References

External links

Stephen Bourne
official website.
"Stephen Bourne"
at ''

History Today ''History Today'' is an illustrated history magazine. Published monthly in London since January 1951, it presents serious and authoritative history to as wide a public as possible. The magazine covers all periods and geographical regions and pub ...

'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourne, Stephen 1957 births British gay writers Living people People from Camberwell British writers Alumni of De Montfort University British film historians English LGBT people LGBT historians