The man who launched the Kick It Out campaign to expose and challenge discrimination at all levels of football said today he was “incredibly honoured and privileged” to receive an honorary degree from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).
PROUD: Lord Ouseley tries on his gown
Lord Herman Ouseley spearheaded the Kick It Out campaign from its launch in 1993, when he was chair of the Commission for Race Equality, in response to widespread calls from clubs, players and fans to tackle racist attitudes existing within the game.
Since then, under Lord Ouseley’s chairmanship, Kick It Out has widened its objectives to cover all aspects of inequality and exclusion with backing from the Football Association (FA), The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), The Premier League and the Football League.
Lord Ouseley was today made an Honorary Doctor of Letters in recognition of his work during a ceremony which saw more than 100 people graduate from Leicester De Montfort Law School in the Faculty of Business and Law.
Lord Ouseley said: “I am so proud to be associated with a university like DMU because it has such a great reputation, a great set of students and it is such a vibrant and vital part of the Leicester community.”
He added that football could learn a lot more from education when it comes to being truly diverse.
Lord Ouseley said: “A community like DMU is so diverse and somewhere that students get to know one another and learn with each other and it is something we want to see happen in football.”
The words “Challenge Convention - Make us Proud” were displayed before the ceremony started and many of the graduates said they could not wait to get out and make a difference.
Celebration: Sharon Manhiri and her family after her graduation
Sharon Manhiri, who graduated in Law, Human Rights and Social Justice, said: “I am really proud of myself. It has been a long journey and a lot of hard work and now I can’t wait to get into the world of work.”
Victoria Aderinto, who graduated in Law and Psychology, added: “I was a bit overwhelmed to receive my degree but really, really happy. I am glad to be ready for work.”
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Zohaib Farooq, who graduated in Business Management and Law, added: “I feel really happy and I’m looking forward to the next step in life. I am really ready for it.”
Kirsty Gasson, who qualified in the Law Practise Course, is a clerk at Leicester’s Emery-Johnson-Astills. She said: “I feel so proud: Really happy. I am working at a solicitors here and I am now hoping to get a training contract.”
Herman Ouseley was the first black race equality adviser in local government, in the London borough of Lambeth; he was the first black policy advisor for ethnic minorities with the Greater London Council. He was the first black chief executive of a local authority in England when appointed in 1988 to the Inner London Education Authority, in those days the largest such body in Western Europe. He was the first black executive chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, a position he held until 2000, and his tenure is credited with restoring the commission's diminishing credibility.
He became Sir Herman Ouseley in 1997 and in 2001 his example and endeavour saw him made a peer, becoming Baron Ouseley of Peckham Rye in Southwark. His understanding and experience still see him called upon to chair independent inquiries into racism, within education, or where community relations have devolved into disorder. He works with independent and voluntary groups, including the Institute of Race Relations.
Posted on Wednesday 27 January 2016