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- Archive 2019
- 2015 Elections: 11 new BME MP’s make history
- 70th Anniversary of the Partition of India
- Black Church Manifesto Questionnaire
- Brett Bailey: Exhibit B
- Briefing Paper: Ethnic Minorities in Politics and Public Life
- Civil Rights Leader Ratna Lachman dies
- ELLE Magazine: Young, Gifted, and Black
- External Jobs
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- Gary Younge Book Sale
- George Osborne's budget increases racial disadvantage
- Goldsmiths Students' Union External Trustee
- International Commissioners condemn the appalling murder of Tyre Nichols
- Iqbal Wahhab OBE empowers Togo prisoners
- Job Vacancy: Head of Campaigns and Communications
- Media and Public Relations Officer for Jean Lambert MEP (full-time)
- Number 10 statement - race disparity unit
- Pathway to Success 2022
- Please donate £10 or more
- Rashan Charles had no Illegal Drugs
- Serena Williams: Black women should demand equal pay
- Thank you for your donation
- The Colour of Power 2021
- The Power of Poetry
- The UK election voter registration countdown begins now
- Volunteering roles at Community Alliance Lewisham (CAL)
Banish ‘empire’ and make us all proud
The Sunday Times: Letters to the Editor published 27th Sept
You report featuring Benjamin Zephaniah’s refusal of an OBE, and that the word “empire” may be dropped from honours such as OBE (News, last week).
To be recognised by the state for your life’s work is humbling, deeply rewarding and, by definition, a great honour. Therefore no one should have to wrestle with whether or not they choose to accept it. I am proud to have been knighted by Her Majesty the Queen — an honour that contained no mention of the word “empire”.
For many, including me, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, to revere about the empire. It means slavery, murder, theft, barbaric cruelty and colonialism.
We cannot and must not attempt to erase our history, but we can choose which parts we put on a pedestal. Exchange the word “empire” for “excellence” and it becomes wonderfully inclusive.
Lord Woolley (formerly Sir Simon Woolley),
House of Lords,
London SW1
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