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* [[Big Society Award]] nomination (2012)<ref name=IoS/>
* [[Big Society Award]] nomination (2012)<ref name=IoS/>
* [[World Pride Power List]] (2012)
* [[World Pride Power List]] (2012)
*''European Diversity Awards Campaigner of the Year in 2017''


== Publication ==
== Publication ==

Revision as of 06:44, 29 June 2021

Phyll Opoku-Gyimah
Phyll 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 49–50)
Islington, London, England
OrganisationUK Black Pride
Political party

Phyllis Akua Opoku-Gyimah (born November 1974),[1] also known as Lady Phyll,[2] is a British political activist, co-founder of UK Black Pride and executive director of Kaleidoscope Trust.[3][4][5][6]

Early life and education

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

Career

Opoku-Gyimah is 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]

Political activity

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.[20][21] She has raised the issue of racism in the LGBT community and spoken about the importance of intersectionality.[22][23] She has been critical of Pride in London stating in an interview she felt the organisation "had a long way to go".[24]

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 and Janet Daby was selected as the candidate and elected to UK Parliament in the by-election on 14 June 2018.[25][26]

Opoku-Gyimah made headlines when she attended the British Academy Film Awards in 2018 with British actress Andrea Riseborough. She attended the ceremony as show of solidarity with women who had experienced discrimination as part of a campaign against sexism.[27][28][29][30]

Opoku-Gyimah was appointed a Grand Marshall of New York Pride in 2019, during the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall riots.[31]

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.[32]

Awards and recognition

Publication

Opoku-Gyimah is a publish author, her publication include

1.An anthology of writings by Same Gender Loving Women of African/Caribbean descent with a UK connection.[34]

2. My Queerness Is A Compass”: Finding Joy In God As A Black, Queer Woman.

References

  1. ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  2. ^ "The IoS Pink List 2012". The Independent. 4 November 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  3. ^ Guobadia, Otamere (2021-01-15). "The UK's black gay icons are worthy of recognition". www.vogue.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  4. ^ Sanusi, Victoria (2021-01-19). "Black British activists share their hopes for the future". www.stylist.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  5. ^ Motune, Vic (2019-06-01). "Lady Phyll Makes History". www.voice-online.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  6. ^ Edmonds, Lizzie; Abbianca Makoni (2020-10-01). "Black History Month Next Gen Trailblazers: The full list of people making a difference". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  7. ^ Segalov, Michael (2021-01-09). "Lady Phyll: 'When Gloria Gaynor played, I danced as if I never would again'". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  8. ^ Jalloh, Twiggy (2021-01-09). "'Pride Is Not Just A Celebration, It's About Change': Why Black Pride Matters". www.vogue.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  9. ^ Cross, Dave (6 July 2018). "Me, Myself and I: Phyll Opoku-Gyimah". Boyz. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  10. ^ Osei-Bempong, Kirsty. "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 (2018-03-19). "UK Black Pride founder 'Lady Phyll' talks diversity, white privilege and Black Panther". www.indy100.com. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  13. ^ Bartholomew, Emma (2019-06-05). "'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 2021-02-03.
  14. ^ "Stonewall trustee update". Stonewall. 2018-05-02. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  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. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  16. ^ "Sista!: An anthology of writings by Same Gender Loving Women of African Caribbean descent". www.amazon.co.uk. 2018-01-25. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  17. ^ "From the chair". Public and Commercial Services Union. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  18. ^ Roache, Quinn (2019-08-22). "Trade unionists led the fight for LGBT rights, but the struggle for an equal world continues". www.tuc.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  19. ^ Brown, Steve (2019-05-15). "Lady Phyll has been apppointed as executive director of Kaleidoscope Trust". Attitude.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  20. ^ Summers, Charlotte (2021-02-15). "Celebrating British LGBT+ icons for LGBT+ History Month". www.gaystarnews.com. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  21. ^ Savage, Rachel (2020-08-13). "Interview: 'Change is happening': UK Black Pride founder sees hope in 2020". www.reuters.com. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  22. ^ Levesley, David (2020-08-18). "Lady Phyll's guide to fighting for equality without burning out". www.gq-magazine.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  23. ^ Wareham, Jamie (2020-08-30). "UK Black Pride Doesn't Need To Justify Itself Anymore, It's Vital To U.K. LGBT+ Movement". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  24. ^ Newbold, Alice (2020-06-11). ""Queer People Of Colour Are Resilient & Resilience Is Power:" Lady Phyll On The UK Black Pride Movement". www.gaystarnews.com. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  25. ^ Duffy, Nick (2018-05-09). "UK Black Pride exec Phyll Opoku-Gyimah confirms run for Parliament in Lewisham by-election". PinkNews. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  26. ^ "HuffPost is now a part of Verizon Media". consent.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  27. ^ Cartner-Morley, Jess (2018-02-18). "Blackout on the red carpet: best dressed a non-issue at Baftas". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  28. ^ "Baftas red carpet 2018: from Angelina Jolie to Lupita Nyong'o – in pictures". www.theguardian.com. 2018-02-18. Retrieved 2021-02-03. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  29. ^ "Bafta Awards 2018: (Most) stars wear black to bring Time's Up to Britain". www.bbc.co.uk. 2018-02-19. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  30. ^ "EE British Academy Film Awards - Red Carpet Arrivals". www.gettyimages.co.uk. 2018-02-19. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  31. ^ "DIVA columnist and UK Black Pride co-founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah announced as Grand Marshal at World Pride 2019". divamag.co.uk. 2020-02-09. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  32. ^ Parsons, Vic (2020-10-01). "LGBT+ titans Munroe Bergdorf, Edward Enninful and Lady Phyll named among '100 great Black Britons'". www.pinknews.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  33. ^ a b "The IoS Pink List 2012". The Independent on Sunday. 4 November 2012.
  34. ^ Opoku-Gyimah, Phyll; Beadle-Blair, Rikki; Gordon, John R., eds. (2018-01-25). Sista!: An anthology of writings by Same Gender Loving Women of African/Caribbean descent with a UK connection.
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