Oku Ekpenyon

Last updated

Oku Ekpenyon

MBE
Born
Oku Anwan Ekpenyon

London, England
Occupation(s)History teacher and campaigner
Known forFounder of Memorial 2007
Parent Ita Ekpenyon (father)
Website www.memorial2007.org.uk

Oku Ekpenyon MBE is a British campaigner and former history teacher who is founder and chair of the charity Memorial 2007 (MEM2007), [1] advocating over two decades for the establishment of Britain's first permanent national memorial to honour the millions of enslaved Africans and their descendants. [2] In the 2010 Birthday Honours, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for "voluntary service to the History of Black British People". [2]

Contents

Background

Oku Anwan Ekpenyon was born in London, the daughter of Ita Ekpenyon (1899–1951), a Nigerian teacher who in 1928 had gone there and studied law, later becoming the only known black Air Raid Precautions (ARP) warden in the United Kingdom. [3] [4] She authored the booklet on him, Some Experiences of an African Air-raid Warden, published by Westminster City Archives. [5]

Oku Ekpenyon was head of history at an inner-London school when, in the late 1990s, she took some students on a tour of the Tower of London, after which a pupil of African heritage asked: "Where is our history?" [6] [7] This led Ekpenyon with a group of friends to launch a charity, Memorial 2007, linked to the bicentenary of the Slave Trade Act 1807 that abolished the trade in the British empire, and also being an educational resource. [6] Patrons of Memorial 2007 include Paul Boateng, Ray Fearon, Philippa Gregory, Doreen Lawrence, Jack Lohman, Sandy Nairne, Dave Prentis and Mark Palmer-Edgecumbe. [8]

Memorial 2007

The Memorial 2007 educational charity aims to erect a sculpture in memory of those who had been enslaved and their descendants, with the chosen location being in the south-east corner of London's Hyde Park. [7] In 2008, the project was backed by Boris Johnson, at that time Mayor of London, who hosted the unveiling of the design at City Hall, [9] stating: "It is important that this era in our history is never forgotten. Hyde Park is a fitting site for a permanent memorial to the millions who lost their lives and the courageous people who fought to end the brutal transatlantic slave trade." [10]

In an article published in The Observer in October 2015, titled "Why has a memorial to slaves quietly been dropped?", historian David Olusoga concluded: "Given the scale of Britain’s involvement and the enormous profits generated from the trade, the creation of a single memorial to the victims of that system in a London rose garden seems a fairly modest demand." [11]

In 2019, a petition was started calling on the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to fund the memorial before planning permission expired on 7 November that year. [12] However, government funding was denied, [13] and the charity continues trying to raise money through small donations, with Ekpenyon reported by the BBC as saying: "The government has supported over the years various memorials financially; why not support us?" [14] She notes the need for somewhere in London, England's capital, where people can go to educate themselves about the slave trade and its history and, in 2020, said that the Black Lives Matter protests gave an opportunity to reignite the campaign; a fundraiser was set up in the absence of official help, although a government statement said: "We are supportive of the aims of the monument and the organisation. The suffering caused by slavery and the slave trade are among the most dishonourable and abhorrent chapters in human history." [15]

Ekpenyon states: "It is the government that decides what to support financially. Boris Johnson said tearing down of statues is lying about our history. Refusing to erect a memorial to enslaved Africans is lying about our history, 400 years of history." [16]

Ekpenyon is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study at the University of London. [17]

See also

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Ita Ekpenyon (1899–1951) was a Nigerian teacher and actor who was also the only known black Air Raid Precautions (ARP) warden in the United Kingdom. Ekpenyon was a teacher in Nigeria but came to London to study law. A speaker of the Efik language, he contributed to a textbook that was used by colonial authorities in Nigeria. Ekpenyon later taught the language to American actor Paul Robeson, with whom he acted in the 1930s films Sanders of the River and King Solomon's Mines. When the Second World War broke out, being too old to serve in the military, he joined the ARP service as a warden. He recounted that some London residents regarded him as lucky because of the colour of his skin, but he also encountered casual racism. Ekpenyon witnessed foreign nationals being barred from one air raid shelter and intervened to persuade the occupants to admit the newcomers; the incident was made into an animated film in 2010. Ekpenyon wrote a memoir on his ARP service and also featured in wartime broadcasts to demonstrate the commitment of West Africans to the war effort. In 2021, a Lucy Worsley docudrama featured Ekpenyon's life. After the war, Ekpenyon gave up on his ambitions for a career in law and became a postman.

References

  1. ↑ "The Team". Memorial 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 Kwaku (12 October 2022). "Two Women: An Ex-History Teacher, An Ex-Vice President, Both With A Passion To Commemorate Global African Contributions". blackhistorymonth.org.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  3. ↑ "Ita Ekpenyon: A forgotten Blitz hero". BBC Local. London. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  4. ↑ "New film features the experience of African air-raid warden during Blitz". Fitzrovia News. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  5. ↑ "History in the News". BBC History Magazine. February 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Welcome". Memorial 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  7. 1 2 Jack, Andrew (16 June 2020). "Monumental struggle: the 20-year campaign for a slavery memorial in London". The Financial Times .
  8. ↑ "The Patrons". Memorial 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  9. ↑ Bressey, Caroline (21 October 2019). "Britain is still failing to acknowledge the legacy of slavery – memorialising its victims would be a start". The Conversation . Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  10. ↑ Barney, Katharine (18 August 2008). "Boris backs Hyde Park slavery memorial". Evening Standard .
  11. ↑ Olusoga, David (4 October 2015). "Why has a memorial to slaves quietly been dropped?". The Guardian.
  12. ↑ Motune, Vic (12 October 2019). "Government urged to back memorial to victims of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade". The Voice .
  13. ↑ Booth, Robert (10 December 2019). "UK government refuses to fund slavery memorial endorsed by Johnson in 2008". The Guardian.
  14. ↑ "'Time running out' for London slavery memorial". BBC News. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  15. ↑ "'We will not give up on London slavery memorial'". BBC News. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  16. ↑ "Memorial 2007: Campaign for Hyde Park statue dedicated to the victims of the slave trade". itv.com. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  17. ↑ "Ms Oku Ekpenyon". Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study at the University of London. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
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