Principal’s Memoir Published

Lord Woolley’s memoir, Soar, was published on Thursday 14 April, by Manilla Press, an imprint of Bonnier Books.

Describing his childhood, adopted by a white family on a Leicester council estate; his return to education at the age of 26; the dynamism and ambition he brought to Operation Black Vote over 25 years and his newfound establishment credentials as a member of the House of Lords and Principal of Homerton, the book is a personal account of an extraordinary journey.

In a foreword to the book, the civil rights campaigner Rev. Jesse Jackson, who became an Honorary Fellow of Homerton at the end of last year, says:

“Lord Simon Woolley is not finished yet, not by a long way. His role as the first Black man to head an Oxbridge college is a new and exciting chapter to encourage and inspire generations to believe, no matter your race or your impoverished start in life you can and must succeed - dream beyond your circumstances.”

The Principal discussed the book in conversation with Alex Clark as part of the Cambridge Literary Festival in April, and with human rights lawyer and the founder of Reprieve, Clive Stafford Smith, at the Charleston Festival in May.