Main content

George the Poet: Why I declined an MBE

George the Poet, has told Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 5 Live that he declined becoming a ‘Member of the British Empire’ but would accept the title ‘friend’, ‘affiliate’ or ‘contributor’ to the British Empire instead if they existed.

The spoken-word artist and award winning podcast creator told Nihal Arthanayake: “I love the liberties and rights that we enjoy… However, those advantages have been won, in many cases, and maintained, and propelled on the back of the exploitation, and the extraction, and the destruction of other societies and awkwardly, problematically for me, my parents just happen to come from one of those societies.â€

This clip was taken from Nihal Arthanayake programme on Monday 25 November 2019.

Release date:

Duration:

2 minutes