UK Black Pride’s Lady Phyll Shares Powerful Words After Being Made An Honorary Doctor
January 17, 2022There was a wave of congratulations to the respected activist and change maker Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, known as Lady Phyll, after she received her honorary doctorate.
Opoku-Gyimah was awarded a degree by London South Bank University for “her outstanding leadership in the fight for equality.”
Sharing the honor on Twitter, she wrote, “I dedicate this honorary doctorate to my daughter, and I dedicate it to all Black women and Black women whose intellect and ability are unimaginable.
“This is a life-changing time that I will never forget.”
Her work includes co-founders British Black Pride. The event has been running since 2005 and is the biggest event of pride for the people of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean heritage of Europe.
Opoku-Gyimah is also the CEO of the Kaleidoscope Trust, which works to promote LGBTQ+ rights across the Commonwealth in countries where anti-gay laws are imposed by the British colonies, according to Anguilla News.
Opoku-Gyimah wrote: “I am not here by chance. I’m here and I mean here in the world because of so many more.
“Everyone in my life teaches me something, and this is where I want to drive home for all of you: your education does not start here, it does not end here. As you travel around the world, remember that knowledge not sourced here is just as valuable – and sometimes even more so.
“This honorary degree is a personal matter,” she said. “It represents me – the recognition of the intellectual labor of black women and black women applied for the world. It represents our influence in these spaces, even though we are often outside.”
“It confirms what I have learned and learned since chasing the tail of my grandmother’s coat: Black women have been influencing and influencing what you have learned in these walls. “We will continue to influence what you know and think about the world and how you experience it.”
Famous Lady Phyll Rejected MBE on New Year 2016 Honors List saying: “LGBTQI people continue to be persecuted, tortured and even killed for having sex with […] laws imposed by the British Empire.”
In a recent interview to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Kaleidoscope Trust, she explained why it is important for the UK to face its legacy.
“The UK has progressed so far with equal marriage with the fact that it has been repealing these laws with the campaign that took place on the 28th section, but we still have,” she said. There is a lot to be internationalized […] I believe our work is very important because we are part of the problem of breaking away from those colonial laws.
“This is not to make people feel guilty. This is about achieving the experience of an accident that happened many years ago.”
Read related myGwork articles here:
Lady Phyll On The Urgent, Unfinished Fight For LGBTQ+ Rights Across The Commonwealth
Lady Phyll Rejects Ghana’s Attacks On LGBT+ Community
Celebrating Black History Month: Lady Phyll
Lady Phyll, Munroe Bergdof And Bernardine Evaristo Named In ‘100 Great Black Britons’ List
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