19-05-2025
University names building in honour of late poet Benjamin Zephaniah
A university has renamed one of its buildings in honour of the late poet and activist Benjamin from Handsworth in Birmingham, was a Brummie legend whose career spanned poetry, literature, music and acting. He died in December 2023, aged City University (BCU) has now renamed a four-storey building, formerly known as University House, as the Benjamin Zephaniah Vice Chancellor David Mba said Zephaniah had strived to "give a voice to the voiceless" and to show that education must be inclusive.
Zephaniah, the son of a Barbadian postman and a Jamaican nurse, was dyslexic and unable to read or write when he left school aged he went on to have a career that included performing dub poetry, writing novels and children's books, and appearing in the BBC series Peaky awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2005.
Zephaniah died eight weeks after being diagnosed with a brain tumour, sparking tributes across his home city that have so far included an open-air exhibition, a mural, and a commemorative blue also launched a poetry competition last year in his honour. The contest launched its second edition last week and is open for entries until 21 wife Qian, Birmingham poet laureate Ayan Aden, and Baroness Mary Bousted, former joint general secretary of the National Education Union, attended the BCU building's official opening last building, which is on the university's city centre campus, has science labs, a space for design and technology, an art room, and general teaching rooms.
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