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Phyll Opoku-Gyimah

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Phyll Opoku-Gyimah
Opoku-Gyimah at the Global Gay Rights event at the Southbank Centre in London on 9 March 2014
Phyll Opoku-Gyimah at the Southbank Centre in March 2014
Born
Phyllis Akua Opoku-Gyimah

November 1974 (age 50)
Islington, London, England
Alma materLea Valley Academy
OccupationPolitical activist
Organisations
Political party
Awards
  • Independent on Sunday Pink List, 2011 (64), 2012
  • Black LGBT Community Award
  • Big Society Award nomination (2012)
  • World Pride Power List (2012)
  • European Diversity Awards Campaigner of the Year in 2017

Phyllis Akua Opoku-Gyimah (born November 1974),[1] also known as Lady Phyll,[2] is a British political activist known for her work for racial, gender and LGBT+ equality. She is Co-Founder and Chief Executive of UK Black Pride and former executive director of Kaleidoscope Trust.[3][4][5][6]

Early life and education

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Opoku-Gyimah was born in Britain in 1974 and attended Bullsmoor School in Lea Valley, where she first became politically active.[7][8] She is of Ghanaian ancestry.[9][10]

Career

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Opoku-Gyimah joined the civil service working for the Department for Work and Pensions benefit fraud section. They are a co-founder, trustee and executive director of UK Black Pride,[11] which "promotes unity and co-operation among all Black people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Middle Eastern and Latin American descent, as well as their friends and families, who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender".[12][13]

Opoku-Gyimah was appointed trustee of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights charity, Stonewall in January 2015 but resigned three years later when the charity announced it would partner with UK Black Pride.[14] Opoku-Gyimah publicly refused an MBE in the 2016 New Year Honours.[15]

With Rikki Beadle-Blair and John R Gordon, she is the editor of Sista!, an anthology of writings by LGBT women of African/Caribbean descent with a connection to the United Kingdom, released by Team Angelica Publishing in 2018, which includes work by 31 writers, including Yrsa Daley-Ward and Babirye Bukilwa.[16]

Well known among the trade union movement, she served on the Trades Union Congress (TUC) race relations committee and was Head of Equality at the Public and Commercial Services Union until June 2019.[17][18]

In May 2019, Opoku-Gyimah was appointed executive director human rights charity the Kaleidoscope Trust.[19] She later resigned in November 2023, to become the first Chief Executive of the charity she founded UK Black Pride.[20][21]

Opoku-Gymiah has been a member of Sky’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council since July 2023.[22]

Political activity

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Opoku-Gyimah is well known for her activism on race, gender and LGBT+ rights in the United Kingdom. She is considered one of Britain's most prominent lesbian activists.[23][24] She has raised the issue of racism in the LGBT community and spoken about the importance of intersectionality.[25][26] She has been critical of Pride in London stating in an interview she felt the organisation "had a long way to go".[27]

She entered the Labour Party internal contest to replace Heidi Alexander as Member of Parliament for Lewisham East when she stood down to work for the Mayor of London. She left midway through the race following an allegation of an antisemitic tweet and Janet Daby was selected as the candidate and elected to UK Parliament in the by-election on 14 June 2018.[28][29][30]

Opoku-Gyimah made headlines when she attended the British Academy Film Awards in 2018 with British actress Andrea Riseborough.[31] She attended the ceremony as show of solidarity with women who had experienced discrimination as part of a campaign against sexism.[32][33][34][35]

Opoku-Gyimah was appointed a Grand Marshall of New York Pride in 2019, during the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall riots.[36]

She was named on a list of 100 Great Black Britons in October 2020, as part of the initiative by Windrush campaigner Patrick Vernon OBE and historian Angelina Osborne to celebrate Black British people during Black History Month.[37]

Awards and recognition

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  • Independent on Sunday Pink List, 2011 (64), 2012 (11)[2]
  • Black LGBT Community Award
  • Big Society Award nomination (2012)[2]
  • World Pride Power List (2012)
  • European Diversity Awards Campaigner of the Year in 2017.[38]
  • Pride Power List (2021)[39]
  • Honorary doctorate by London South Bank University (LSBU).[40]
  • British LGBT Awards.[41]
  • Lifetime Achievement Award.[42]
  • Radley handbags.[43]
  • Dr Martens boots [44]

Books

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  • Opoku-Gyimah, Phyll; Beadle-Blair, Rikki; Gordon, John R., eds. (25 January 2018). Sista!: An anthology of writings by Same Gender Loving Women of African/Caribbean descent with a UK connection. Team Angelica. ISBN 978-0995516243.

References

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  1. ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "The IoS Pink List 2012". The Independent. 4 November 2012. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  3. ^ Guobadia, Otamere (15 January 2021). "The UK's black gay icons are worthy of recognition". www.vogue.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  4. ^ Sanusi, Victoria (19 January 2021). "Black British activists share their hopes for the future". www.stylist.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  5. ^ Motune, Vic (1 June 2019). "Lady Phyll Makes History". www.voice-online.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  6. ^ Edmonds, Lizzie; Abbianca Makoni (1 October 2020). "Black History Month Next Gen Trailblazers: The full list of people making a difference". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  7. ^ Segalov, Michael (9 January 2021). "Lady Phyll: 'When Gloria Gaynor played, I danced as if I never would again'". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  8. ^ Jalloh, Twiggy (9 January 2021). "'Pride Is Not Just A Celebration, It's About Change': Why Black Pride Matters". www.vogue.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  9. ^ Cross, Dave (6 July 2018). "Me, Myself and I: Phyll Opoku-Gyimah". Boyz. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  10. ^ Osei-Bempong, Kirsty (26 June 2016). "gal-dem in conversation with Lady Phyll, director of Black Pride UK". gal-dem. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  11. ^ "Phyll Opoku-Gyimah", UK Parliament Week.
  12. ^ Zatat, Narjas (19 March 2018). "UK Black Pride founder 'Lady Phyll' talks diversity, white privilege and Black Panther". www.indy100.com. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  13. ^ Bartholomew, Emma (5 June 2019). "'We are all dealing with so much': Lady Phyll on why Black Pride UK is necessary ahead of Haggerston Park festival". www.hackneygazette.co.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  14. ^ "Stonewall trustee update". Stonewall. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  15. ^ Broomfield, Matt (5 January 2016). "Black lesbian activist Phyll Opoku-Gyimah turns down MBE in protest at LGBT persecution by 'colonial regimes'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  16. ^ Sista!: An anthology of writings by Same Gender Loving Women of African Caribbean descent. 25 January 2018. ASIN 0995516243.
  17. ^ "From the chair". Public and Commercial Services Union. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  18. ^ Roache, Quinn (22 August 2019). "Trade unionists led the fight for LGBT rights, but the struggle for an equal world continues". www.tuc.org.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  19. ^ Brown, Steve (15 May 2019). "Lady Phyll has been apppointed [sic] as executive director of Kaleidoscope Trust". Attitude.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 May 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  20. ^ Manning, Charlotte (19 November 2023). "Lady Phyll steps down as Kaleidoscope Trust leader to become UK Black Pride's first CEO". Attitude.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  21. ^ "Lady Phyll appointed as the first-ever Chief Executive of UK Black Pride". Diva Magazine. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  22. ^ "Sky appoints two new experts to its Diversity Advisory Council to amplify diversity and inclusion expertise". Sky Group. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  23. ^ Summers, Charlotte (15 February 2021). "Celebrating British LGBT+ icons for LGBT+ History Month". www.gaystarnews.com. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  24. ^ Savage, Rachel (13 August 2020). "Interview: 'Change is happening': UK Black Pride founder sees hope in 2020". www.reuters.com. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  25. ^ Levesley, David (18 August 2020). "Lady Phyll's guide to fighting for equality without burning out". www.gq-magazine.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  26. ^ Wareham, Jamie (30 August 2020). "UK Black Pride Doesn't Need To Justify Itself Anymore, It's Vital To U.K. LGBT+ Movement". Forbes. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  27. ^ Newbold, Alice (11 June 2020). ""Queer People Of Colour Are Resilient & Resilience Is Power:" Lady Phyll On The UK Black Pride Movement". www.gaystarnews.com. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  28. ^ Duffy, Nick (9 May 2018). "UK Black Pride exec Phyll Opoku-Gyimah confirms run for Parliament in Lewisham by-election". PinkNews. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  29. ^ "HuffPost is now a part of Verizon Media". consent.yahoo.com. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  30. ^ Yorke, Harry (13 May 2018). "Labour candidate for Lewisham East by-election withdraws as it emerges she compared Israel-Palestine conflict to 'Nazi persecution'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  31. ^ "Race storm erupts after Andrea Riseborough's best actress Oscar nomination". The Guardian. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  32. ^ Cartner-Morley, Jess (18 February 2018). "Blackout on the red carpet: best dressed a non-issue at Baftas". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  33. ^ Joanna Ruck; Scarlett Conlon; Hannah Marriott (18 February 2018). "Baftas red carpet 2018: from Angelina Jolie to Lupita Nyong'o – in pictures". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  34. ^ "Bafta Awards 2018: (Most) stars wear black to bring Time's Up to Britain". www.bbc.co.uk. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  35. ^ "EE British Academy Film Awards - Red Carpet Arrivals". www.gettyimages.co.uk. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  36. ^ "DIVA columnist and UK Black Pride co-founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah announced as Grand Marshal at World Pride 2019". divamag.co.uk. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  37. ^ Parsons, Vic (1 October 2020). "LGBT+ titans Munroe Bergdorf, Edward Enninful and Lady Phyll named among '100 great Black Britons'". www.pinknews.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  38. ^ Itie, Harry (31 May 2018). "Cover Star: Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, Co-Founder & Director UK Black Pride". The Rustin Times. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  39. ^ Greenhalgh, Hugo (24 July 2021). "LGBT+ campaigners demand inclusion at first UK 'Reclaim Pride' march". Reuters. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  40. ^ "UK Black Pride's Lady Phyll shares powerful words after 'life-changing' honour". PinkNews. 17 January 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  41. ^ CommunityNews· (9 February 2018). "Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, Edward Enninful, Demi Lovato and more nominated for British LGBT Awards. See full list here". The Rustin Times. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  42. ^ "National Inclusion Week: UK Black Pride's Phyll Opoku-Gyimah on making meaningful change for diversity in the workplace". www.newschainonline.com. 27 September 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  43. ^ "Meet our Woman of Spirit - Lady Phyll". Radley and Co Ltd. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  44. ^ magazine, adobo (31 May 2022). "Campaign Spotlight: Watch Dr. Martens inaugural pride campaign 'Pride Generation,' a series of short films by PRETTYBIRD Director Jess Kohl". adobo Magazine Online. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
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