Bonnie Greer OBE (1948–2026): Activist, Broadcaster, Inspiration and Force of Nature

It was with shock and sadness that I saw the news flash that Bonnie Greer had passed after a short illness, as I had been with her just a few short weeks ago. She was frail and not moving so well, but her mind was as bright as ever.  As my partner Ebun Culwin affectionately commented Bonnie was as usual her loving self and "full on”

Intellectually, Bonnie was, to me, a force of nature, always with a twinkle in her eye, full of ideas, full of views and full of enthusiasm and mental energy. It could be quite intellectually draining to be in her presence, such was her urge to do stuff, make things happen and help you to make it.

Bonnie impacted my life in a number of ways. The most fundamental for me was that, through her, I actually had the opportunity to see the 1511 Westminster Tournament Roll, held at the College of Arms. The Roll contains the only two images of John Blanke, the Black trumpeter to the Tudors and the central figure of my John Blanke Project. It is very rarely unrolled for viewing, as it is deemed too delicate, so to see it live and in person was a huge honour and privilege. I am forever grateful to Bonnie for making that happen. I wrote about it on the John Blanke Project’s blog:

Together, we recalled that moment when Bonnie appeared with me and my co-host, Phil Woodford, on our weekly news review show, Five in the Eye. We spontaneously broke into Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” as we recalled the wonder of seeing the actual images of John Blanke on the Roll. Bonnie made a number of appearances on Five in the Eye and always had witty, insightful and trenchant comments to make on the week’s news, especially what was happening in Trump’s America. Bonnie had faith that America would survive despite what was happening. I recall her confidently saying, “America will be.”

I last saw her a few weeks ago at the Caribbean Takeover at the National Maritime Museum, where she was speaking and I was promoting the John Blanke Project. There, Bonnie signed my copy of Who Is John Blanke? Artists and Historians Reimagine the Black Tudor Trumpeter, for which she wrote the foreword. She quoted that song again in the note she added to her signature.

Ebun and I will always remember Bonnie as a force of nature, with vision, energy, enthusiasm and a love of life and its possibilities. Bonnie’s gone, but for us, her spirit lives on never to be forgotten.