Editing Benjamin Zephaniah (section)

==Personal life==
Zephaniah lived for many years in [[east London]]; however, in 2008, he began dividing his time between a village near [[Spalding, Lincolnshire]], and [[Beijing]] in China.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jan/18/benjamin-zephaniah-interview-poet|first=Lynn|last=Barber|author-link=Lynn Barber|title=The interview: Benjamin Zephaniah|newspaper=The Observer|date=18 January 2009|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-date=30 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330104801/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jan/18/benjamin-zephaniah-interview-poet|url-status=live}}</ref> He was a keen language learner and studied [[Mandarin Chinese]] for more than a decade.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://imlearningmandarin.com/2021/11/12/benjamin-zephaniah-on-learning-mandarin-podcast/ |title=Benjamin Zephaniah on Learning Mandarin Chinese (Podcast) |publisher=ImLearningMandarin.com |date=12 November 2021 |access-date=5 March 2022 |archive-date=5 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305120446/https://imlearningmandarin.com/2021/11/12/benjamin-zephaniah-on-learning-mandarin-podcast/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Zephaniah was married for 12 years to Amina, a theatre administrator. His infertility – which he discussed openly<ref name="Inews-1772217">{{cite news |last1=Zephaniah |first1=Benjamin |title=Benjamin Zephaniah: I'm 64 and my infertility still brings me to tears |url=https://inews.co.uk/opinion/benjamin-zephaniah-64-infertility-tears-1772217 |access-date=8 December 2023 |work=inews.co.uk |date=5 August 2022 |language=en |archive-date=12 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812031319/https://inews.co.uk/opinion/benjamin-zephaniah-64-infertility-tears-1772217 |url-status=live }}</ref> – meant that they could not have children and his criminal record prevented them from adopting.<ref name="Telegraph-obit" /> They divorced in 2001.<ref>{{Cite news |work=The Independent |title=Arts and Books |date=19 June 2009}}</ref> 

In 2017, Zephaniah married Qian Zheng, whom he had met on a visit to China three years earlier, and who survives him.<ref name="Guardian obituary" />

In May 2018, in an interview of [[BBC Radio 5 Live]], Zephaniah admitted that he had been violent to a former partner, confessing to having hit her. He said:

{{Blockquote|The way I treated some of my girlfriends was terrible. At one point I was violent. I was never like one of these persons who have a girlfriend, who'd constantly beat them, but I could lose my temper sometimes... There was one girlfriend that I had, and I actually hit her a couple of times, and as I got older I really regretted it. It burned my conscience so badly. It really ate at me, you know. And I'm a meditator. It got in the way of my meditation.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rodger|first=James|date=2 May 2018|title=Benjamin Zephaniah admits to hitting ex-girlfriend|url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/showbiz-tv/peaky-blinders-star-benjamin-zephaniah-14605708|access-date=28 April 2021|website=BirminghamLive |archive-date=28 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428102920/https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/showbiz-tv/peaky-blinders-star-benjamin-zephaniah-14605708|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

His cousin, Michael Powell, died in police custody, at [[Thornhill Road police station]] in Birmingham, in September 2003 and Zephaniah regularly raised the matter,<ref name="ZephaniahNov272003" /><ref name="Balloo">{{cite news |last1=Balloo |first1=Stephanie |title=Police paid £300,000 to the family of man who died in custody |url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/cops-who-struck-young-dad-14897058 |access-date=7 December 2023 |work=Birmingham Live |date=11 July 2018 |quotation=Birmingham poet Benjamin Zephaniah, had said: "We have been asking questions for 10 years, protesting for 10 years, writing letters, and poems, and statements for 10 years, but most of all we have been collectively grieving for 10 years. |archive-date=18 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118173421/https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/cops-who-struck-young-dad-14897058 |url-status=live }}</ref> continuously campaigning with his brother Tippa Naphtali, who set up a national memorial fund in Powell's name to help families affected by deaths in similar circumstances.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/benjamin-zephaniah-racism-police-stops-custody-deaths_uk_60869a80e4b09a22a444dc1b|title='That's What They Do To Us': Benjamin Zephaniah On His Experiences Of Police Racism|website=HuffPost|first=Emma|last=Youle|date=30 April 2021|access-date=14 December 2023|archive-date=14 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214081956/https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/benjamin-zephaniah-racism-police-stops-custody-deaths_uk_60869a80e4b09a22a444dc1b|url-status=live}}</ref>

Zephaniah's family was Christian but he became a [[Rastafari]]an at a young age.<ref>{{cite web|first=Benjamin|last=Zephaniah|title=Has Snoop Dogg seen the Rastafari light, or is this just a midlife crisis?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/07/snoop-dogg-rastafari|work=The Guardian|date=7 August 2012|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-date=12 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312144030/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/07/snoop-dogg-rastafari|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=4 February 2014|first=Mischa|last=Wilmers|title=Benjamin Zephaniah: 'It is my duty to help and inspire'|url=https://newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2014/02/04/benjamin-zephaniah-interview|access-date=29 April 2021|website=New Internationalist|language=en|archive-date=29 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429185710/https://newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2014/02/04/benjamin-zephaniah-interview|url-status=live}}</ref> He gave up smoking [[Cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] in his thirties.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/may/06/benjamin-zephaniah-i-dont-want-to-grow-old-alone|title=Benjamin Zephaniah: 'I don't want to grow old alone'|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|first=Joanne|last=O'Connor|date=6 May 2018|access-date=6 May 2018|archive-date=6 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180506084529/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/may/06/benjamin-zephaniah-i-dont-want-to-grow-old-alone|url-status=live}}</ref>

He was a supporter of [[Aston Villa F.C.]] – having been taken to matches as a boy, by an uncle<ref name="Telegraph-obit" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/may/18/seven-deadly-sins-zephaniah-villa|title=Villa fans, violence and me|first=Benjamin|last=Zephaniah|newspaper=The Observer|date=18 May 2009|access-date=11 December 2023|archive-date=11 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211013921/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/may/18/seven-deadly-sins-zephaniah-villa|url-status=live}}</ref> – and was the patron for an Aston Villa supporters' website,<ref>{{cite web|title=A Poet Called Benjamin Zephaniah|url=http://www.benjaminzephaniah.com/content/14.php?image_id=1011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807062344/http://www.benjaminzephaniah.com/content/14.php?image_id=1011|archive-date=7 August 2011|access-date=10 May 2011|publisher=Benjaminzephaniah.com}}</ref> as well as an ambassador for the club's charity, the Aston Villa Foundation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.avfc.co.uk/news/2023/december/07/Tribute-to-Benjamin-Zephaniah/|title=Tribute to Benjamin Zephaniah|author=Aston Villa FC|date=7 December 2023|website=avfc.co.uk|access-date=11 December 2023|archive-date=11 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211013922/https://www.avfc.co.uk/news/2023/december/07/Tribute-to-Benjamin-Zephaniah/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/uk-news/2023/12/08/aston-villa-pay-homage-to-lifelong-fan-benjamin-zephaniah/|title=Aston Villa pay homage to lifelong fan Benjamin Zephaniah|newspaper=[[The Voice (British newspaper)|The Voice]]|date=8 December 2023|access-date=11 December 2023|archive-date=8 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208113543/https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/uk-news/2023/12/08/aston-villa-pay-homage-to-lifelong-fan-benjamin-zephaniah/|url-status=live}}</ref> 

===Death and legacy===
Zephaniah died on 7 December 2023, at the age of 65, after being diagnosed with a [[brain tumour]] eight weeks previously.<ref name="Telegraph-obit" /><ref name="bbc7dec">{{cite web |first=Steven |last=McIntosh |date=7 December 2023 |title=Benjamin Zephaniah: Writer and poet dies aged 65 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67646607 |website=[[BBC News]]|access-date=7 December 2023|archive-date=7 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207120516/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67646607 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=times7dec>{{cite web |first=Alex |last=Farber |date=7 December 2023|title=Benjamin Zephaniah, writer and poet, dies aged 65 |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/benjamin-zephaniah-dead-dies-age-brain-tumour-grkvz05z7 |website=[[The Times]]|archive-url=https://archive.today/20231207123327/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/benjamin-zephaniah-dead-dies-age-brain-tumour-grkvz05z7|archive-date=7 December 2023|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="dod">{{Cite news |last=Creamer |first=Ella |date=7 December 2023 |title=British poet Benjamin Zephaniah dies aged 65 |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/dec/07/british-poet-benjamin-zephaniah-dies-aged-65 |access-date=7 December 2023 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=9 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209235700/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/dec/07/british-poet-benjamin-zephaniah-dies-aged-65 |url-status=live }}</ref> His friend of nearly twenty years, [[Joan Armatrading]], gave a tribute to him on ''[[Newsnight]]'' on [[BBC Two]] after hearing the news of his death. Writing on [[Twitter]], she said: "I am in shock. Benjamin Zephaniah has died age 65. What a thoughtful, kind and caring man he was. The world has lost a poet, an intellectual and a cultural revolutionary. I have lost a great friend."<ref>{{Cite tweet |last=Armatrading |first=Joan |author-link=Joan Armatrading |user=ArmatradingJoan |number=1732799022023217630  |date=7 December 2023 |title=I am in shock. Benjamin Zephaniah has died age 65. What a thoughtful, kind and caring man he was. The world has lost a poet, an intellectual and a cultural revolutionary. I have lost a great friend |access-date=8 December 2023 }}</ref>

The BBC later re-broadcast Zephaniah's documentary ''A Picture of Birmingham'', in which he revisited his birthplace and his former [[approved school]].<ref name="auto"/> [[Fiona Bruce]], the presenter of BBC's ''[[Question Time (TV programme)|Question Time]]'', on which Zephaniah was a regular panellist, paid tribute to him, saying: "He was an all round, just tremendous bloke" for whom she had "huge affection and respect".<ref>{{Cite tweet |author=Question Time |author-link=Question Time (TV programme) |user=bbcquestiontime |number=1732907559462322648  |date=7 December 2023 |title='He was an all round, just tremendous bloke' Fiona Bruce pays tribute to poet Benjamin Zephaniah, a regular panellist on Question Time, who she says she had 'huge affection and respect for'  |access-date=8 December 2023 |link=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001t4t5 }}</ref>

According to [[Martin Glynn (criminologist)|Martin Glynn]] of [[Birmingham City University]], Zephaniah was "never an establishment person", but "got into spaces" where he felt he could be heard. Glynn said: "He was the [[James Brown]] of dub poetry, the godfather... [[Linton Kwesi Johnson]] spoke to the political classes, but Benjamin was a humanist, he made poetry popular and loved music. He had his own studio.... He did what [[John Cooper Clarke]] did with poetry and that was bringing it into the mainstream."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-67650140|title=Benjamin Zephaniah: The James Brown of dub poetry|first=Vanessa|last=Pearce|author2=Giles Latcham|date=8 December 2023|via=www.bbc.co.uk|access-date=8 December 2023|archive-date=9 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209235700/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-67650140|url-status=live}}</ref>

The family issued a statement on 7 December regarding Benjamin Zephaniah's death, saying: "Thank you for the love you have shown Professor Benjamin Zephaniah."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sinclair |first=Luke |date=2023-12-07 |title=Renowned British poet and Peaky Blinders star, Benjamin Zephaniah, passes away at 65 |url=https://www.herald.wales/mid-wales/ceredigion-mid-wales/Entertainment/renowned-british-poet-and-peaky-blinders-star-benjamin-zephaniah-passes-away-at-65/ |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=Herald.Wales |language=en-GB}}</ref> 

Aston Villa Football Club paid tribute to Zephaniah on Saturday, 9 December 2023, in advance of their home match against [[Arsenal F.C.]], by playing on the big screens his ode to Villa, originally recorded in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YVOHu8qYSo|title=Benjamin Zephaniah: Ode to Aston Villa|date=22 July 2015|access-date=11 December 2023|publisher=BBC Sport|via=YouTube|archive-date=11 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211013921/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YVOHu8qYSo|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/sport/aston-villa-benjamin-zephaniah-tribute-arsenal-b2461535.html|title=Aston Villa pay moving tribute to poet Benjamin Zephaniah ahead of Arsenal win|first=Oliver|last=Browning|newspaper=The Independent|date=10 December 2023|access-date=11 December 2023|archive-date=11 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211013921/https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/sport/aston-villa-benjamin-zephaniah-tribute-arsenal-b2461535.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

His private funeral, attended by close friends and family, took place on 28 December, and it was requested that well-wishers plant flowers, trees or plants in Zephaniah’s honour, rather than sending cut flowers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/benjamin-zephaniah-funeral-where-b2470538.html|title=Benjamin Zephaniah fans asked to plant flowers in poet's memory as funeral takes place|newspaper=The Independent|first=Roisin|last=O'Connor|date=28 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/dec/28/benjamin-zephaniah-laid-to-rest-in-private-funeral|title=Benjamin Zephaniah laid to rest in private funeral|first=Nadeem|last=Badshah|newspaper=The Guardian|date=28 December 2023}}</ref>

An artwork featuring Zephaniah that appeared on the wall of an underpass in [[Hockley, West Midlands|Hockley]], Birmingham, in March 2024 was accidentally painted over by a council sub-contractor employed to remove graffiti, although Zephaniah's family had been given assurances that the mural would be protected.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/apr/05/apology-benjamin-zephaniah-mural-painted-over-birmingham|title=Apology after Benjamin Zephaniah mural painted over in Birmingham|first=Jessica|last=Murray|newspaper=The Guardian|date=5 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/zephaniah-family-frustration-over-mural-28939753|title=Zephaniah family frustration over mural that 'took hours to create and minutes to destroy' in error|website=Birmingham Live|first=Jane|last=Haynes|date=5 April 2024|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref> Following a public backlash,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/backlash-hockley-mural-beloved-benjamin-28923958|title=Backlash as Hockley mural of beloved Benjamin Zephaniah painted over|first=Jane|last=Haynes|website=Birmingham Live|date=2 April 2024|access-date=11 April 2024}}</ref> an apology was issued,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4njjvxw5jvo|title=Apology after Benjamin Zephaniah mural removed|first=Andrew|last=Dawkins|publisher=BBC News, West Midlands|date=4 April 2024|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.localgov.co.uk/Council-contractor-apologises-after-painting-over-Zephaniah-mural-/59159|title=Council contractor apologises after painting over Zephaniah mural|first=William|last=Eichler|website=LocalGov|date=8 April 2024|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref> and new artwork was subsequently commissioned from black artists, to be unveiled on 14 April at [[Handsworth Park]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/apr/07/birmingham-mural-honours-legacy-of-poet-giant-benjamin-zephaniah|title=Birmingham mural honours legacy of poet giant Benjamin Zephaniah|newspaper=The Observer|first=Vanessa|last=Thorpe|date=7 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/68759335|title=Benjamin Zephaniah mural: Tribute to be unveiled for Birmingham writer and poet|website=Newsround|publisher=CBBC|date=8 April 2024|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref>

As a tribute, in April 2024, BBC Radio 4 broadcast the 2018 ''[[Book of the Week]]'' recording of Zephaniah reading his autobiography, ''The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah''.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 2024 |title=The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b0prnw |access-date=9 April 2024 |website=[[BBC Radio 4]]}}</ref>

In September 2024, an outdoor space at [[Brunel University of London]] was named after Zephaniah.<ref name="bruneloutdoorspace">{{cite news |last1=Sudan |first1=Richard |title='His love was for everybody': emotional tributes as Brunel University unveils plaque to Benjamin Zephaniah |url=https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/uk-news/2024/09/07/his-love-was-for-everybody-emotional-tributes-as-brunel-university-unveils-plaque-to-benjamin-zephaniah/ |access-date=9 January 2025 |work=Voice Online |date=7 September 2024 |language=en}}</ref> Since April 2025, Brunel University also hosts a "Benjamin Zephaniah Day" near the date of April 15 (Zephaniah's birthday).<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/apr/15/his-delivery-cut-through-class-barriers-moby-mala-and-other-musicians-on-working-with-benjamin-zephaniah</ref>