Leicester students celebrate Lord Simon Woolley’s lifelong fight for racial justice
Lord Simon Woolley returned to Leicester to meet students at Rushey Mead Academy after they unveiled a blue plaque in his honour.
The plaque is part of the University of Leicester’s Social Justice Plaques project, which sees Year 9 students commemorate important figures from Leicester’s history.
Lord Woolley grew up in Leicester and went on to found Operation Black Vote, which works to tackle the democratic deficit and racial inequalities affecting African, Asian and Caribbean communities in British politics.
In 2019, Lord Woolley joined the House of Lords as a crossbencher and in 2021 became Principal of Homerton College at the University of Cambridge.
Explaining why they chose Lord Woolley, one student said: “We chose him because he fought for racial rights. It is inspirational because we can meet someone who fought for those rights and ask him about his experiences.”
Lord Simon Woolley said: “It’s a great honour to be back in Leicester, not least because I am being honoured with a blue plaque in the area where I grew up.
“For the next generation of leaders to be presenting me with such an honour is such a wonderful day, especially during Black History Month. Listening to their stories, their hopes, their fears is wonderful.”
The visit gave students the chance to speak to Lord Woolley about his life, campaigning work and the importance of civic participation.
Lord Woolley visited Rushey Mead alongside Professor George Lewis, who leads the University of Leicester’s Social Justice Plaques project.
Professor Lewis said: “These students are such wonderful ambassadors for their school and for our city. For such a vibrantly diverse city with such a rich history, we have traditionally commemorated our past in far too narrow a way.
“This project offers school pupils the opportunity to really engage with and research a past that matters to them, which is one alive with social justice activism and potent local stories. This group have done that superbly.”