David Olusoga is the award-winning author, and presenter whose contributions to Britain's black history are defining. Currently the Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester, Olusoga has committed to bringing essential topics, such as Windrush, slavery and the empire, to the forefront of conversations. Through his extensive work in producing series, publications and presenting, Olusoga has gained a platform for his insightful research. A truly captivating speaker, who has experienced first-hand the implications of systematic racism, Olusoga educates his audiences on the importance of the past in redefining the future. Fascinating and informative in equal parts, Olusoga leaves guests with a fresh perspective, individually and group wide.
A regular feature in front of the camera, Olusoga’s work has shaped a new direction for historical depiction on the small screen. Fronting pioneering series like: A House Through Time, Black and British: A Forgotten History and The World’s War, Olusoga shines a light on the underrepresented aspects of history, focusing on race. For his continued efforts in effectively educating audiences on minority races through time, Olusoga was named OBE in 2019, a reflection of the far-reaching impact of his career. Winning the Specialist Factual BAFTA Award in 2016 for Britain’s Forgotten Slave Owners solidified Olusoga as a leading voice in exposing Britain’s history.
Born in Nigeria, Olusoga was raised predominantly in the UK, where he experienced racism daily, throughout his childhood. Shaped by these formative incidents, Olusoga went on to read the history of slavery at the University of Liverpool, determined to understand the root of the hatred he was victim of. After further studying journalism, Olusoga embarked on his career in the media, producing ground-breaking history docu-series for the BBC like Namibia: Genocide and the Second Reich.
An accomplished author, many of Olusoga’s literary works accompany his television series, further extending the reach of his platform and research. Most associated with his book ‘Black & British’, the publication is a pivotal piece in historical writing, winning numerous industry awards, including the Longman-History Today Trustees Award. His other works have been equally acclaimed, with The World’s War winning the 2015 World War One Book of the Year, a testament to his unrivalled insight. Through his substantial media presentations, Olusoga has developed a delivery style that is elegant and engaging enabling him to captivate his audiences as a speaker. For a compelling talk, etched with personal experience, decades of academic study and implementable advice, book historian David Olusoga today.
In November 2023 we sat down virtually with David Olusoga and discussed his views on the dismantling of British statues in the wake of the BLM movement and why history has become so political and controversial. Watch our Exclusive Interview with David Olusoga.
Social Media
Books
Black And British
A House Through Time
The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire
The Cult of Progress
The Kaiser's Holocaust: Germany's Forgotten Genocide & the Colonial Roots of Nazism
Black History for Every Day of the Year
How to hire David Olusoga
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring David Olusoga for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
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Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
"Thank you for connecting us with David. David's talk was exceptional. His execution was so effective, and his talk was powerful, thoughtful, and well-received by everyone. It was revelatory for many. Absolutely spectacular!" - Cheryl, Head of Clinical Medical Writing, BioMarin UK Ltd.
"The event went really well, David was fantastic as well as being very professional and kind at all the requests for photos at the end." - Alicia, Principal of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, European Bank for Reconstruction & Development
"David did an excellent job and his presentations were very well received by the business" - Howard, Westcon
"Such a fabulous speaker, please send on our appreciation to David" - Helen, Culture and Inclusion HR Assistant, Ministry of Defence
"Just to say a big thank you for your assistance with the event last week. David was great and several people who attended spoke very highly of the event" - Ami, Senior Associate, Hausfeld
"Yes, all went really well. David was brilliant, and we had a very engaged session and lots of positive feedback and thoughts for the future. I'm sure we'd love to perhaps follow up with him again in the future. Please pass on our thanks" - Helen, Chief Banking Officer, Starling Bank
"Please pass on my thanks to David and our team for setting up today's session. Having these opportunities to listen and discuss such important subjects and ones outside of our 'core' business is truly valuable and enriches us as a group" - Ornella, Cognizant
"Thank you, David, it was a privilege to have you and hear your personal story. It was our most anticipated and well-attended event as part of our Black History Month initiative at UBS and for good reason! We have received some great feedback from viewers, many citing it as one of the most insightful and impactful sessions they have watched at UBS. So many left the session having learnt something new about Black British history and gained an understanding of the depth of ideas behind racism in society. We’d love to have you back again!" - Joseph, UBS
"David is such a wonderful speaker and of course very professional (which made all of the practical/tech stuff very easy!). We had great engagement as well with over 100 people on the live stream and about 50 more joining to watch on the big screen in our office. Please do pass on our sincere thanks to David for giving up his time for such a compelling, insightful talk" - Jahnavi, Deliveroo
"AMAZING! We were absolutely blown away, I've had amazing feedback already!... Just some of the feedback I have had: 'An educational, interesting and thought-provoking start to Black History Month... it's made me want to educate myself and find out more', 'it was really impactful, I've seen David Olusoga on a few programmes and he was just as engaging today, it felt special to have someone with recent facts and so much experience of study in this area to explain it all so eloquently' and 'one of the greatest speakers we have had in!'... some immediate snippets!" - Jessica, International Technical Service Manager, Premier Foods
"David was great, very inspirational and the staff was really buzzing. The keynote sparked great conversations and hopefully, we can continue those in the months to come." - Klaudia, Staffordshire University
"David was amazing. Everyone loved the session, people felt it was relevant, insightful, current with the world around us today and gave us food for thought. Please pass along our gratitude to David." - Jessica, Group Head Of Diversity & Inclusion, RS Components
David was phenomenal as ever. The event was a resounding success. - Edwin, Portfolio Business Manager, Schroders
"It was fantastic. David was just brilliant, I’m so pleased we were able to book him in." - Jessica, Two Birds
"David was so so so so good, I have had floods of emails saying how great it was. Absolutely perfect and cant recommend him enough." - Jordan, Matillion
"Absolutely excellent. Content was substantive and profound. The fireside chat with David Olusoga was incredible. So, so informative. I value these substantive presentations and often feel there are not enough of them that connect the academic world with the corporate, and really appreciate the care KPMG Global has taken in putting together such an excellent submit." - Emma, KPMG
"I have nothing but positive feedback for David! The roundtable went really well, and the lecture was sensational. David had clearly done his research after our briefing call, and included some facts that I wasn’t even aware of around Lloyd’s." - Tyreish, Lloyds of London
FEEDBACK FROM IN-PERSON EVENTS:
"I wanted to follow up with you following David’s talk yesterday, the event was very successful and David was an absolutely brilliant speaker. Myself and Oli would like to thank you for your support in getting him booked in for our event and please extend our thanks to David also." - Ella, MRCG, University of Exeter
"I just thought I would extend my thanks to David for giving us his time and energy yesterday, speaking at the IWFM Conference 2021. The event was a huge success and the feedback from delegates and sponsors has been exceptional! Everyone is commenting on the speaker line up and the quality of the content….Golden Nuggets has been mentioned a few times. In particular having David close the event was a very important role and even though we ran over, everyone was still incredibly engaged and clearly wanted the conversation to go on longer! So once again, thank you to David for helping us make the 2021 event such a memorable success!" - Emma, EC Events
“David was well received, he’s a great speaker of course. It was a great discussion and lots of questions.” - Paul, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
"The event was a success and staff were really engaged and definitely took away a lot from the discussions. Please thank David Olusoga on our behalf and express our gratitude to him for helping raise the profile of diversity in the workplace and hope that he too, enjoyed the hour spent with our Urenco audience. - Cheryl, Company Secretarial Assistant, Urenco Limited
"On behalf of everyone at Rothesay I wanted to extend our thanks for your participation in our Black History Month event on Tuesday. The feedback from colleagues has been overwhelmingly positive.I was truly impressed by your depth of knowledge, your skill in educating us and articulating the challenges that we can encounter. Your presentation sparked some meaningful conversations among our team. As you know, this was the first Black History Month event at the company so presentation was an important step towards understanding and celebrating Black History. I am grateful for the awareness and understanding you've brought to our workplace." - Rothesay
- 2024 - Author of "Black History for Every Day of the Year"
- 2021 - Author of "The Black History Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained"
- 2021 - Recipient of the President's Medal from the British Academy for Services to Humanities & Social Sciences
- 2019 - Awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Leicester
- 2019 - Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester
- 2019 - Appointed OBE for Services to History & Community Integration
- 2018 - Awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Leeds
- 2018 - Author of "Civilisations: First Contact/The Cult of Progress"
- 2018 - Member of the Board of the Scott Trust
- 2017 - Recipient of the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize for Black & British
- 2017 - Awarded the Longman-History Today Trustees Award for Black & British
- 2017 - Recipient of an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Liverpool
- 2016 - Recipient of a Specialist Factual BAFTA for "Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners"
- 2016 - Author of "Black & British: A Forgotten History"
- 2015 - Awarded the World War One Book of the Year at the Paddy Power Political Book Awards
- 2015 - Recipient of the Royal Historical Society Public History Prize for Broadcasting for "Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners"
- 2015 - Author of "The World's War"
- 2011 - Author of "The Kaiser's Holocaust: Germany's Forgotten Genocide & the Colonial Roots of Nazism"
- Named on the Powerlist, the 100 Most Influential Black Britons ranking - 2019, 2020 & 2021
- Presenter of "The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire", "Civilisations", "Black & British: A Forgotten History", "A House Through Time" & "Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners"
