The spoken word artist George the Poet has said he was offered an MBE but turned it down because of the “pure evil” perpetrated by the British empire.

The poet, whose real name is George Mpanga, said he would not accept such an honour until the UK took meaningful steps to mitigate some of the consequences of its colonial history.

Speaking on his BBC podcast, Have You Heard George’s Podcast?, he said he declined the award in May 2019, having initially indicated he would accept it because of his family’s reaction.

How Britain dishonoured its African first world war dead Read more

“I turned down an MBE. A friend asked me if I would accept it, I just saw my parents’ faces and without thinking I said ‘yes’ and then I took a minute and reflected, reflected on my status and I felt a burning sensation in my chest,” Mpanga said.

“Your forefathers grabbed my motherland, pinned her down and took turns. They did that every day for a couple hundred years and then left her to treat her own burns. Now all of her children are born with a set of unique concerns and gaps in the information that we really do need to learn and none of us know why, why we got absorbed by a ‘higher entity’, why I have to fight for my identity.

“George – people know me as this – the name of some old colonialist and you are so conceited it doesn’t even occur to you how lonely this is. What they did was pure evil and you can’t see it because that was your people.”

The artist, who was born in Harlesden in London and is of Ugandan heritage, has won critical acclaim as a musician and a social commentator. He was shortlisted for the critics’ choice category at the 2015 Brit awards and he came fifth in the BBC Sound of 2015 poll. In 2018 he was elected as a member of the national council of Arts Council England.

He apologised on the podcast to an unnamed friend who he said had recommended him for an MBE on his assurance that he would accept, saying: “I didn’t know I would feel this way.”

Mpanga said: “I see myself as student, admirer and friend of Britain. However, the colonial trauma inflicted on the children of Africa, entrenched across our geopolitical and macroeconomic realities, prevents me from accepting the title Member of the British Empire.

“The gesture is deeply appreciated, the wording is not. It will remain unacceptable to me until Britain takes institutional measures to address the intergenerational disruption brought to millions as a result of her colonial exploits.

“I have no issue with other black people who have embraced this title – I encourage variety of thought across our society and within my community. I encourage future generations to seek the relevant information to make an informed decision.

“What do the words British empire mean to you? I love this country but I do so with transparency.”

Sharing the podcast episode on Twitter, he wrote: “I don’t hate white people, I don’t think the whole empire is pure evil, I just think rape is, and that’s what the British empire did to my motherland. These are my feelings, you don’t have to take them on. But if you wanna learn more, here u go.”