To Benjamin: a night of poetry, power, and community
On a soft October evening, the University of Birmingham’s Bramall Music Building hummed with anticipation. The occasion was the inaugural Benjamin Zephaniah Community Lecture presented by the Race Equality Network for Black History Month 2025.
All photography courtesy of Trevor Price
As the doors opened at 18:00, the air already carried the weight of something special. Not just a lecture but a tribute. A gathering of minds and hearts to honour one of Birmingham’s greatest voices — the late Benjamin Zephaniah — and to continue his legacy through another extraordinary Black voice: George the Poet.
The evening began in true community spirit. Before George even spoke, Birmingham-based poet Zakariye took the stage, delivering a stirring spoken word piece - a tribute ‘To Benjamin’ who he called ‘one of the pillars of Birmingham art’. The crowd sat silently as his words echoed across the ornate hall. Outside, Old Joe, the university’s iconic clocktower, illuminated in the colours of Black History Month to commemorate Benjamin. For one night only, ‘Old Joe was Big Ben’.
The conversation between George the Poet and Lorraine Mighty, a Birmingham-based Poet, began shortly after as the audience were let in to two Black artists unpacking a legacy, a life and what it means to be an artist in service of the people.
George recalled meeting Benjamin 15 years ago at a community event in Brixton, a fitting location rich in culture and resistance. At the time, George had no platform, no fame, none of the impressive accolades he holds today but just poetry. However, Benjamin gave him mentorship, time and feedback. It was a moment George would never forget. In his words, Benjamin was ‘the blueprint’ — a poet who showed what it meant to push the boundaries of art, race and language.
As a Londoner, George spoke with genuine admiration for Birmingham; the city Benjamin came from and the community he represented. He praised its warmth, its character and its deep connection to artistic, cultural and political consciousness. It was easy to see how Benjamin’s spirit is an extension of Birmingham and this spirit still pulses.
The heart of the conversation was community and George reminded us that we have to show up, connect, and defend. He said, ‘The future is us’. When he spoke of art, he made it clear: art isn’t something to be given to people — it’s already inside of us. That’s something Benjamin always believed too.
He reflected on Benjamin’s recollections of his mother with her melodic voice and rhyming cadence and how poetry often begins in the home, in oral tradition, in the rhythms of Black communities. Benjamin, George said, showed us that poetry didn’t belong to the elite. It belonged to everyone and especially to us, the people.
George shared how rap first gave him a voice — the confidence to speak, to question and to express. It gave a voice to ‘the voiceless’. He recalled how Benjamin’s use of patois in poetry validated his own experiences. Reading that in school felt like permission. Representation, not just in stories but in language.
The lecture closed with a clip from Benjamin Zephaniah’s own speech at the University of Birmingham when he received his honorary doctorate. Hearing his voice again, bold, warm and unapologetically Brummie, in a different but equally iconic building on campus, was surreal. His family were in the room with us and the presence of legacy was real.
As we filtered out into the night, it was hard not to feel something stick with you - not just admiration for two phenomenal artists but a sense of belonging. A sense that art, when rooted in truth and community changes things.
Leaving the event, you couldn’t help but feel empowered, inspired and most of all, filled with love for community.
To Benjamin. Forever.
Want to continue celebrating Black History Month? Check out the full schedule.
Event reported by Aaliya Afzal, Student Comms