Lord Woolley's memoir, Soar, is published today, 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 will discuss the book in conversation with Alex Clark as part of the Cambridge Literary Festival at 8pm on Thursday 21 April.