{"id":353,"date":"2021-02-11T09:15:48","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T09:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/kaleidoscope\/?p=353"},"modified":"2021-02-11T09:15:48","modified_gmt":"2021-02-11T09:15:48","slug":"lgbt-history-month-11-28-lady-phyll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/kaleidoscope\/2021\/02\/11\/lgbt-history-month-11-28-lady-phyll\/","title":{"rendered":"LGBT+ History Month 11\/28: Lady Phyll"},"content":{"rendered":"

It goes without saying that culture is a wonderous and diverse thing.\u00a0 It\u2019s important for growth, development and making us all better human beings.\u00a0 Without it, the world would be a terrible place and progress wouldn\u2019t even be a word.<\/p>\n

On that note, today\u2019s entrant in the Queeroes series embodies everything that is diversity and inclusion.\u00a0 Her work as an advocate, charity trustee and LGBT+ champion has bestowed upon her the new title of Queero.\u00a0 It\u2019s Lady Phyll. *<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Born Phyllis Akua Opoku-Gyimah on November 20th<\/sup>, 1974, but nicknamed Phyll, she would study at as Bullsmoor School, later renamed Lea Valley Academy, in Enfield, Middlesex.\u00a0 From an early age, Phyll knew that the colour of one\u2019s skin would have an impact on one\u2019s life.\u00a0 A young activist at heart, she would often be removed from class for speaking up and asking questions on why African and Asian history wasn\u2019t being taught.<\/p>\n

An early experience, while out with a white friend, showed her the true colours of the world when she was told to hide in a shop to avoid a march hosted by the BNP.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Phyll\u2019s experience as an anti-racism and LGBTQ+ campaigner extends a 20-year history.\u00a0 Throughout her twenties, Phyll worked as a Civil Servant in both the Department for Work & Pensions and the Fraud Investigation Service.\u00a0 In January 2008, she would become Head of Political Campaigns & Equality for the largest Civil Service Trade Union in the UK, Public and Commercial Services Union.\u00a0 It was during this time that she would go on to co-found Black Pride and later become Executive Director.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Originally founded online, with a day trip to the beach, Black Pride began in 2005 via the Black Lesbian UK social network BLUK.\u00a0 It is now the largest celebration for LGBTQ+ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American and Middle Eastern descent (AACLAME).\u00a0 Phyll would go on to recall the monumental event, explaining that \u201cIt was amazing.\u00a0 A space where you've got so many people with a shared commonality. \u00a0We understood each other's struggle, and felt empowered.<\/strong><\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

The premise of Black Pride was simple: visibility for LGBTQ+ people of colour who are hardly (if ever) represented in society.\u00a0 Black Pride is a safe space for diverse sexualities, gender identities and expressions, cultures and backgrounds, celebrated through art, education, advocacy and events.\u00a0 And what was once a coach-load of Black LGBTQ+ women on a seaside outing is now an annual event attended by over 7,500 people a year!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2018, following concerns over the lack of diversity, Stonewall itself withdrew support for London Pride and instead focussed their attention and resources to Black Pride.\u00a0 This partnership would help increase visibility for Black Pride and recognition for LGBTQ+ people of colour.\u00a0 It would later create a position at Stonewall to work closely with organisations and individuals of AACLAME backgrounds to ensure true inclusivity within the community.<\/p>\n

The significance of this should not be lost on any of us.\u00a0 In 2020 we all saw the plight of Black people magnified with the Black Lives Matter movement.\u00a0 Black Pride aims to ensure people from AACLAME backgrounds, particularly those who identify as LGBTQ+, never have to live in fear of who or what they are.\u00a0 It is an inclusive space so even those \u201cWhite Lives Matter\u201d chanters may like to hear that white people are welcome to be a part of it.\u00a0 Bigots, however, are not.<\/p>\n

As we learnt from Tanya Compas<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, representation doesn\u2019t always appear in media and thus more and more LGBTQ+ people of colour may struggle with their sexual and gender identity for many years.\u00a0 Now, Black Pride has become a staple during pride season to change all that and will continue to showcase and support AACLAME LGBTQ+ people across Europe.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2019, Phyll was appointed an Executive Director of the Kaleidoscope Trust, the leading UK charity advocating for the human rights of LGBTQ+ people globally.\u00a0 This month she was guest editor of Europe\u2019s leading LGBTQ+ women\u2019s magazine, DIVA.<\/p>\n

The impact of Phyll\u2019s work is unquestionable.\u00a0 Through Black Pride UK and the Kaleidoscope Trust, she has been able to showcase a side of the LGBTQ+ community that no one was paying attention to.\u00a0 Her work has enabled a true sense of pride within AACLAME people and the diversity that goes deep within their cultures.<\/p>\n

As an advocate for Black rights and LGBTQ+ rights, Lady Phyll has empowered thousands, if not millions, of people to embrace the colour of their skin and the person each of them wishes to be.\u00a0 Children from AACLAME backgrounds will see themselves in more role models than ever who will personify the message \u2018you are valid, you are OK, you are part of something wonderful.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

To keep up with her work and see where she is taking the AACLAME LGBTQ+ community next, you can check out her social media profiles (Instagram<\/strong><\/a> and Twitter<\/strong><\/a>) which are flooded with black pride and LGBTQ+ advocacy.\u00a0 Even on her birthday, Lady Phyll is tirelessly fighting the good fight, the winning fight, for LGBTQ+ and AACLAME equality.<\/p>\n

You can find her on almost every news and culture website imaginable with interviews galore about her life, her work and her Queero legacy.\u00a0 Also, don\u2019t forget to check out both UK Black Pride<\/strong><\/a> and the Kaleidoscope Trust<\/strong><\/a>. **<\/p>\n

-<\/p>\n

* The title of comes in two parts: firstly, it comes from a nickname to clarify she was a woman (it's Phyll not Phil), the second was from her decision to reject an MBE.\u00a0 Her reason for this was in protest against the former British empire\u2019s LGBTQ+ penal codes which are still in place across the world even after British rule.\u00a0 Should you wish to know more about this I would highly recommend 52 Times Britain was a Bellend: The History You Didn\u2019t Get Taught At School<\/em> by James Felton as a quick explainer.\u00a0 You can of course look elsewhere for the full and downright ludicrous history of homosexual discrimination.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

** No affiliation with us but we one trillion percent are behind everything they stand for! \u2764<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It goes without saying that culture is a wonderous and diverse thing.\u00a0 It\u2019s important for growth, development and making us all better human beings.\u00a0 Without it, the world would be a terrible place and progress wouldn\u2019t even be a word....<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1549,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[29,19],"tags":[79,40,77,78,32,33,51,46,45,39,47,76,38,35,34,36,37,54,50,42,81,80,48,43,30,44,52,11,41,49],"class_list":["post-353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-28-days-of-queeros-queer-heros","category-lgbt-history","tag-aaclame","tag-bisexual","tag-black-pride","tag-black-pride-uk","tag-blacklgbt","tag-blackqueer","tag-body","tag-diversity","tag-equality","tag-gay","tag-inclusion","tag-lady-phyll","tag-lesbian","tag-lgbtplushistorymonth","tag-lgbtpoc","tag-lgbtq","tag-lgbtqia","tag-lgbtyouth","tag-mind","tag-nonbinary","tag-persons-of-colour","tag-poc","tag-pride","tag-queer","tag-queeroes","tag-questioning","tag-spirit","tag-trans","tag-transgender","tag-wellbeing"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pd4Pwk-5H","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/kaleidoscope\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/kaleidoscope\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/kaleidoscope\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/kaleidoscope\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1549"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/kaleidoscope\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/kaleidoscope\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/kaleidoscope\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/kaleidoscope\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/kaleidoscope\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}