Meet the team
We are Jeffrey Boakye and Sophie Hostick-Boakye, husband and wife and business partners. We work together to deliver training, talks, events and journalism on race, masculinity, education and popular culture.
Jeffrey
Jeffrey Boakye is an ex-teacher turned writer, speaker and educator, known for weaving together complex issues of our time in an accessible and engaging way.
With a particular interest in issues surrounding race, masculinity, education and popular culture, Jeffrey uses his charisma, energy and talent for the spoken and written word to write and educate.
Jeffrey is the critically acclaimed author of Musical Truth: A musical journey through modern black Britain. He is also the author of six other books:
Musical World: Modern World History as You’ve Never Heard it Before
Hold Tight: Black masculinity, millennials and the meaning of grime
What is Masculinity? Why does it matter? And other big questions (co-authored with Darren Chetty).
Jeffrey draws on his insights as an English teacher of 15 years, first in West London, then in establishing a successful English department in East London, and then finally teaching in East Yorkshire, to provide training to schools, universities, Multi Academy Trusts, charities and businesses. Jeffrey also keeps his hand in in the classroom by delivering sessions and workshops to school students. He is also a Senior Teaching Fellow at Manchester Institute of Education, helping to train new teachers.
Jeffrey publishes a very popular Substack newsletter - Are You Sitting Comfortably? - which grapples with the realities and intersections of identity politics: race, gender, socio-economics, ethnicity… the building blocks of who we are and how we are seen. Subscribe here.
Jeffrey also co-hosts BBC Radio 4’s double award winning Add to Playlist. He appears on numerous other radio shows and podcasts.
Jeffrey is also an occasional journalist, writing for numerous publications including Writer’s Mosaic, The Guardian and The Financial Times.
In January 2023, the University of Leicester bestowed the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters on Jeffrey, recognising his work in equality, education and writing.
Sophie
Sophie is Director and Business Manager at Jeffrey Boakye Ltd, and is the first port of call for enquiries to work with Jeffrey.
With a particular interest in social inequality, community engagement and representation, Sophie uses her organisational skills and passion for equity to co-ordinate Jeffrey’s engagements.
Sophie’s background in research, social inequality, project management and community engagement in local government, the charity sector and the corporate sector makes her the ideal person to lead the business. In her managerial role, Sophie liaises with schools, contacts within UK publishing, independent bookshops, libraries and businesses.
An avid reader herself and with her two sons, Sophie is interested in ensuring books that are representative of marginalised communities are accessed by children and families of all backgrounds. She has supported her sons’ school to improve their selection of books for EYFS and creates reviews on inclusive books with her two sons.
Sophie is also Awards Co-ordinator for Inclusive Books for Children and co-runs @TheMixedFamilyConversation, a UK-based community on Instagram for mixed heritage families, sharing resources, experiences, troubleshooting problems & arranging meet-ups.
Sophie is also a printmaker: @SophieKingo_Prints.