Benjamin Zephaniah’s work, activism and creativity have profoundly shaped the world around him. A passionate and life-long activist, Zephaniah fought passionately for disability inclusion, animal rights, racial equity, and social justice, at the same producing music, award-winning poetry and novels, acting, and as a Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University.
He was a force of nature, and, in his passing this December, leaves behind a deluge of critical work that has fought against conservative, racist, and discriminatory people. Those who knew him say that he was “the living embodiment of the principles he championed“.
His work and activism brought him recognition, even from those seen as perpetrating racism and turning their backs to anti-racism and inequality, when he was offered an OBE in 2003, which he famously rejected, later saying:
“I’ve been fighting against empire all my life. I’ve been fighting against slavery and colonialism all my life. I’ve been writing to connect with people, not to impress governments or monarchy. So how could I go and accept an honour that puts the word ‘empire’ onto my name?”
The sad passing of Zephaniah in December 2023 is not an end to these fights – we can keep his work alive by taking lessons from his life and putting them into action now.
“How do you like your truth?”
Zephaniah fought against the racist and fascist elements of British society from the 1980s to the modern day. His work was shaped by his experiences and the attacks he faced, as well as those faced by others, such as Stephen Lawrence.
Lawrence was brutally murdered in 1993. The Metropolitan Police failed to arrest his killers for years due to entrenched institutional racism in the Metropolitan Police, leading Zephaniah to write the powerful poem ‘What Stephen Lawrence Has Taught Us’ in 1999 as part of a campaign to bring Lawrence’s killers to justice:
“Because the death of Stephen Lawrence
Has taught us that racism is easy when
You have friends in high places.”
In 2012, nearly 20 years after Lawrence’s murder, two men were found guilty of killing the teenager.
Zephaniah campaigned to show that institutional racism still permeates all elements of society. In January 2023, the UN’s Commission on Human Rights found that “discrimination against people of African descent is structural, institutional and systemic”. The UK Government’s abhorrent immigration policies, the Windrush Scandal, and the seemingly long-forgotten horrific events at Grenfell Tower are just some signs of that. In 2015, in a BBC interview, he said that:
“Racism has evolved. We don’t really see gangs of racist gangs roaming the streets like they did back in the day. They now wear suits and ties, some form political parties, some build websites, and some of them are academics!”
“The road to liberty”
Zephaniah passionately promoted and fought for liberty for the oppressed (both for humans and animals) throughout his life, and actively opposed to settler colonialism and apartheid, from South Africa to occupied Palestine. “When I was young, there were two things that I really wanted to see: a free South Africa and a free Palestine“, he said in 2019, for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign of which he was a patron. His book Rasta time in Palestine documented his time in the occupied territories.
Zephaniah’s work during the campaign seeking justice for Lawrence, his work with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and his wider work, including The Dread Affair, can inspire and guide us to continue the fight against neo-colonialism in the UK and beyond, and stand up against the institutional and legal “goliaths” that block equity and progressive social justice. He leaves behind a legacy calling us to “hold truth to power”.
As Zephaniah commented in his book, Refugee Boy: “The planet is for everyone, borders are for no one. It’s all about freedom.”
Essential Zephaniah
Zephaniah’s literary career is often attributed to starting in 1980, and over the span of four decades, he produced 13 poetry collections, six novels, five children’s books, and seven plays. He also released seven albums, and appeared in multiple screen productions, most recently as ‘Jeremiah Jesus’ in Peaky Blinders.
Here is just some of Zephaniah’s influential and best-known literary work.
Poetry
- We Refugees (poem)
- No Problem (poem)
- The Dread Affair (collection)
- Too Black, Too Strong (collection)
- The Little Book of Vegan Poems (collection)
- We Sang Across the Sea: The Empire Windrush and Me (biography of Mona Baptiste)
