This arts project features the legacy of Birmingham's treasured poet and activist Benjamin Zephaniah, who sadly passed away on 7th December 2023, aged 65.
Benjamin was a British writer, dub poet, actor, musician and professor of poetry and creative writing. He was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008. The heritage program features the many 'faces' of Benjamin Zephaniah during his lifetime as :-
- A musical artist
- A poet
- A Rastafarian
- An activist
- a human rights advocate
- A lover of nature
- A vegetarian
- A supporter of women's rights and campaign against domestic value
- A descendant of the Caribbean 'Windrush' community
- A 'Son' of Handsworth!
Black Heritage Walks Network provides walks, tours, exhibitions, workshops, teaching resources and primary sources for adult and children Key Stage 1, 2, 3, & 4. For more information about our Benjamin Zephaniah educational programme, please email blackheritagewalksnetwork@gmail.com
The People's Champion Mural
The project includes the installation of a ground breaking new new mural celebrating the roots and activism of Benjamin Zephaniah, which will be unveiled in Handsworth Park on Sunday 14th April 2024. Commissioned by Black Heritage Walks Network (BHWN) and completed by internationally renowned artist Bunny Bread founder of Create Not Destroy, the work celebrates Zephaniah's stature as ‘The People's Champion’.
The mural represents Benjamin Zephaniah in different stages of the his life :-
Image 1 - Benjamin Zephaniah as Jeremiah ’Jimmy’ Jesus in Peaky Blinders
Image 2 - Benjamin Zephaniah as an international poet and author
Image 3 - ‘Peoples Champion’. Benjamin Zephaniah as an activist for human rights , against racism and inequality
Image 4 - Benjamin Zephaniah as a reggae dub poet and artist, featuring lyrics from the song 'Handsworth Unite'
Image 5 - a poem written by Benjamin and drafted on the mural by award winning cartoonist for Beano comic, Hunt Emerson
The mural is painted in vibrant colours that reflect his cultural background from the Caribbean and his spiritual teachings as a Rastafarian.
Dawn Carr, local historian of Black History Arts & More (BHAM) worked closely with the artist, the local community and Benjamin's family to make the project happen. Speaking ahead of the unveiling she said “Benjamin Zephaniah was a son of Handsworth grassroots community and resistance. He showed endless love and creativity, courage and humanity. He was always humble and an advocate of the poor & oppressed. Benjamin was more than a poet, he was a true king, a warrior, a prophet and a role model for all men, regardless of background. ”
Artist Bunny Bread from Create Not Destroy wanted to mark Benjamin's many forms of expression in the mural, saying “Benjamin really stood for the people; when you listen to his music and his poetry, his causes were always in front of him. In a time where people are about getting followers and likes, he was always about the cause and the people.”
Shuranjeet Singh, Lead for the Soho and Handsworth Neighbourhood Planning Forum hopes that this will be “the first of many ways to recognise and uplift the work of Benjamin Zephaniah in the local area”.
The work, completed in March and endorsed by the Benjamin Zephaniah Memorial Family Fund, dramatically fills one side of the historic Sons of Rest building, which once stood derelict before a major renovation of Handsworth Park took place in the early 2000s.
Speaking for the Friends of Handsworth Park, chair of trustees Ed Freshwater said “Benjamin - through his works, his words, his activism, and his unstoppable passion - represented all that is great about Handsworth. His poetry had a rhythm and language that's familiar to us all, in our homes and our streets, so influenced by the many cultures in our community. “Handsworth Park is
a place where our community comes to breathe, to celebrate, and to be inspired. We are all so proud to celebrate Benjamin's extraordinary legacy with this mural, and look forward to many more commemorations of his legacy”.
An unveiling ceremony will take place at the Sons of Rest building in Handsworth Park from 3pm
on Sunday 14th April 2024. All are welcome.
Benjamin Zephaniah Bibliography
Poems
Poetry Pen Rhythm (1980), Page One, ISBN 978-0907373001
The Dread Affair: Collected Poems (1985), Arena, ISBN 978-0099392507
City Psalms (1992), Bloodaxe Books, ISBN 978-1852242305
Inna Liverpool (1992), AK Press, ISBN 978-1873176757
Talking Turkeys (1994), Puffin Books, ISBN 978-0140363302
Propa Propaganda (1996), Bloodaxe Books, ISBN 978-1852243722
Funky Chickens (1997), Puffin, ISBN 978-0140379457
School's Out: Poems Not for School (1997), AK Press, ISBN 978-1873176498
Funky Turkeys (audiobook) (1999), Puffin, ASIN B07VJJ8WCX[127]
Wicked World! (2000), Puffin Random House, ISBN 978-0141306834
Too Black, Too Strong (2001), Bloodaxe Books, ISBN 978-1852245542
The Little Book of Vegan Poems (2001), AK Press, ISBN 978-1902593333
Reggae Head (audiobook), 57 Productions, ISBN 978-1899021055
Novels
Face (1999), Bloomsbury (published in children's and adult editions)
Refugee Boy (2001), Bloomsbury
Gangsta Rap (2004), Bloomsbury
Teacher's Dead (2007), Bloomsbury
Terror Kid (2014), Bloomsbury
Windrush Child (2020), Scholastic, ISBN 978-0702302725
Children's books
Children's books We Are Britain (2002), Frances Lincoln Publishers Primary
Rhyming Dictionary (2004), Chambers Harrap
J Is for Jamaica (2006), Frances Lincoln
My Story (2011), Collins
When I Grow Up (2011), Frances Lincoln
