Bite Size Comms

The poet, writer, activist and Rastafarian Benjamin Zephaniah passed away last week. He was only four years older than me. He was my hero (I have few, by the way). I was born and raised in Peckham, South London. My friends at school were born in the UK to parents from the Caribbean on the MS Windrush and other ships. I loved and still love hearing a Caribbean accent!

Benjamin worked tirelessly for the causes he believed in. Social justice, fighting against racism, broadening education, animal rights and veganism. He had a very strong moral code, for example, turning down an honour because it had the words British Empire in it – colonialism. 

He had dyslexia, yet he became one of this country’s greatest poets. He communicated issues through his words. He got people to consider the issue and their opinions about it. He did it in a non-threatening way, with a cheeky smile. His views were listened to and generally respected, even though he self-identified as an anarchist. Above all, Benjamin was authentic in his communications – long before that became a trend in comms. Communicating issues from a third-sector stance can be very, very hard work. Despite all the evidence collected, data, and case studies, those who can make decisions in government and public administration sometimes listen, often take no action. That was my experience working on Gypsy, Traveller and Roma rights for many years.

The only poem I can recite is by Benjamin. It is about racism in football. Like most of Benjamin’s work, it was genius. A couple of months ago, I downloaded Benjamin’s recent audiobook ‘The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah’. If, as communicators, you would like to understand how authentic voices can change attitudes, feelings and opinions, do read the book or listen to the audio version. He had strong views, but his voice was heard.

[Image: By David Morris from Hull, England – Unaware, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9870100%5D