We Were There

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

We Were There is about a Black Britain that for too long has been unknown and unexplored – the one that exists beyond London.

From the late 1970s to the early 1990s Britain was in tumult: rocked by Margaret Thatcher’s radical economic policy, the rise of the National Front, widespread civil unrest. With anti-immigration policies in the political mainstream, Black lives were on the frontline of a racial reckoning. But it was also a time of unrivalled Black cultural creation, organising and resistance. This was the crucible in which modern Britain came into existence.

We Were There brings into the spotlight for the first time extraordinary Black lives in once-rich cities now home to failing industries: the foundries of Birmingham, the docks of Liverpool and Cardiff, the mills of Bradford. We are in Wigan, Wolverhampton, Manchester and the green expanse of the British countryside. We meet feminists and Rastafarians, academics and pan-Africanists, environmental campaigners and rugby-league superstars; witness landmark campaigns against miscarriages of justice; encounter radical groups of artists and pioneering thinkers; tread dancefloors that hosted Northern Soul all-nighters and the birth of Acid House.

Together, these voices and stories rewrite our idea of Black British culture. London was only ever part of the picture – We Were There is about incorporating a vastly broader range of Black Britons into the fabric of our national story.

Alive with energy and purpose, We Were There decisively expands our sense of who we are. Confronting, joyful and thrilling, this is a profoundly important new portrait of modern Britain.

© Lanre Bakare 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critics Review

We Were There is a vital corrective that enhances our understanding of Black British history in the 20th century by moving the narrative outside of London
Steve McQueen
Lanre Bakare’s first book is not just a work of history – it is a necessary and urgent recalibration of the way we think about Black Britain… an expansive, deeply researched work that insists on a broader, richer understanding of Black life
Guardian
[Bakare writes] with quiet enthusiasm and sharp intelligence about black communities, including those in Bradford, Wolverhampton, Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff and Edinburgh … We Were There bridges the gaps to missing links and admirably achieves what it sets out to provide: further evidence of Black people’s influence on the UK
Observer
Like much of how we view and discuss history in the UK, the story of Black Britain often has a London bias. But as Guardian writer Lanre Bakare's book explores, there is a rich story to be told outside the capital too ... A joyous and fascinating corrective
GQ Magazine *best books of 2025*
The premise of this non-fiction book is a deceptively simple one: to consider the influence of Black culture in modern Britain, and, critically, beyond London ... It's a part of Britain's collective heritage that has been woefully underreported and makes for a book that is fact-packed and fascinating
Esquire *best books of 2025 so far*
We Were There is an essential, unique and joyful contribution to the full understanding of Black Britain. It broadens our story and ensures that the scale of our influence across the UK is fully recognised and appreciated. Utterly brilliant
Dipo Faloyin, author of Africa Is Not A Country
An urgent conversation about Britishness and the breadth of Black British experience [that] will take us on affecting and insightful journeys
Arifa Akbar, author of Consumed
Lanre Bakare takes us on a rare journey, rearranging our understanding of Britain’s racial geography with an open mind, perceptive eye and an accessible style. An incisive book at an important time
Gary Younge, author of Dispatches from the Diaspora
Genuinely pioneering and transformative histories only come along rarely, but Lanre Bakare's wonderfully immersive, wide-ranging account of the years when Black Britian acquired its own agency is undoubtedly such
David Kynaston, author of A Northern Wind
[A] meaty social history study [with] interesting things to say about race and class ... Packed with revealing content
Independent

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