Emma Dabiri

Emma Dabiri is an acclaimed writer, broadcaster and social historian whose interdisciplinary work explores race, identity and culture with warmth and rigour. Named one of the BBC's broadcasting stars of the future, she is the author of three books, including the international bestseller What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to Coalition, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2023. Emma co-presents Britain's Lost Masterpieces on BBC4, hosts programmes on BBC Radio 4, and is completing her PhD whilst teaching at SOAS. Her sessions equip audiences with thoughtful frameworks to navigate complex conversations around identity, belonging and social change with confidence and compassion.

When Emma Dabiri's debut book Don't Touch My Hair was published by Penguin in 2019, it marked the beginning of a powerful literary voice that would go on to produce two further acclaimed works and earn her a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Literature in 2023. Her 2021 book What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to Coalition became an international bestseller, followed by Disobedient Bodies: Reclaim Your Unruly Beauty in 2023. Named one of the BBC's broadcasting stars of the future, Emma has built a career that spans television, radio, academia and writing, exploring race, identity and culture through an interdisciplinary lens that crosses African Studies, art, sociology, history and popular culture.

Emma co-presents Britain's Lost Masterpieces on BBC4 and has hosted BBC Radio 4's Saturday Review and Front Row, alongside creating landmark documentaries including Journeys in Afrofuturism. Her broadcasting work has taken her from presenting Back in Time for Brixton and the Back in Time Confectioners series on BBC Two to exploring contemporary social issues in Channel 4's Is Love Racist? She is currently developing a radio documentary on Afro-surrealism, travelling to Haiti to explore this significant artistic genre. As a teaching fellow in the Africa department at SOAS, Emma balances her academic position with her presenting work whilst completing her PhD, a project she aims to finish in the coming year. She contributes regularly to The Guardian, Irish Times and academic journals, and serves as one of the BBC's Expert Voices, tackling complex questions around race and identity with clarity and conviction.

Emma equips audiences with thoughtful, practical frameworks for navigating difficult conversations about identity, belonging and social change. Her speaking engagements at festivals and arts venues translate complex academic ideas into accessible insights that organisations and individuals can apply immediately. Whether addressing workplace diversity, cultural understanding or personal identity, Emma helps audiences move beyond performative gestures towards meaningful action and coalition building. Her sessions combine rigorous historical and sociological analysis with warmth and humanity, leaving audiences better equipped to engage with nuance, challenge assumptions and create lasting change in their own contexts.