BBC

2021

The OBE is not for me

The OBE is Not for Me tells the story of why poet and activist Benjamin Zephaniah famously rejected the Queen’s offer of an OBE. For Zephaniah, the word “Empire” was inseparable from slavery, colonial violence and racism — histories that shaped his family’s experience and still scar Britain today. His decision became a powerful act of resistance against establishment recognition and a call for justice for the marginalised.