The Reverend Sybil Theodora Phoenix, OBE (née Marshall; 21 June 1927) is a British community worker of Guyanese birth. She was the first black woman to be awarded the

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

, in 1973.

Biography

Sybil Theodora Marshall was born in Georgetown in

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

(now Guyana), where she grew up."Sybil Phoenix OBE – community leader"
Moments in Time – I Rise, 7 March 2018. When she was nine years old her mother died, after which Sybil lived with her grandfather until his death when she was 12, and then with an aunt and uncle. After leaving school she became secretary to the minister of the church as well as helping in the church youth club, where she met her future husband in her early twenties. She was also a classically-trained singer. She and her fiancé Joe Phoenix moved to England in 1956, and married in June of that year. They experienced racism in London. Sybil Phoenix started fostering for

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...

in 1961. She also became a community worker, providing support for unwanted children. In recognition of her work in Lewisham she was awarded the

in 1972. In partnership with the

London Borough of Lewisham Lewisham () is a London borough in south-east London; it forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham. The local authority is Lewisham London Borough Council, based in Catford. The Prime Meridian passes throug ...

she began a

supported housing Supportive housing is a combination of housing and services intended as a cost-effective way to help people live more stable, productive lives, and is an active "community services and funding" stream across the United States. It was developed by ...

project for single homeless young women aged from 16 to 21, and in 1979, the project was named the Marsha Phoenix Memorial Trust, in memory of her own daughter, who died in a car accident in 1974. In 1971 she founded a youth club for black teenagers in

New Cross New Cross is an area in south east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Greenwich, ...

, on Pagnell Street and named it Moonshot. The club operated out of an old mission hall in Pagnell Street and it became a community centre for local black people, with academic classes, a lending library, dances, a football team, daytime drop-in classes and support for young mothers and social evenings for the elderly. However, the center was destroyed one night in an arson attack by members of the right-wing extremist National Front. Sybil Phoenix vowed to rebuild it: "My name is Phoenix and I will build a new center from the ashes of this club, so help me God". Four years later, in 1981, the Prince of Wales was present for the grand opening of Moonshot, the new Pagnell Street Centre, the first purpose-built community centre for black people in the UK. Sybil Phoenix was involved in community support and activism following the

New Cross house fire The New Cross house fire was a conflagration, fire that occurred during a party at a house in New Cross, south-east London, in the early hours of Sunday, 18 January 1981. The blaze killed 13 young black people aged between 14 and 22, and one su ...

of 1981. The Moonshot Club was the venue for the first meeting after the fire. In 1999 she contacted MP

Joan Ruddock Dame Joan Mary Ruddock, (née Anthony; born 28 December 1943) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewisham Deptford from 1987 to 2015. Ruddock was Minister of State for Energy at the Departmen ...

to discuss a memorial to those killed in the fire; Ruddock has described Sybil Phoenix as "one of Deptford's remarkable black community leaders". She has contributed to research about

Stop and Search Stop and search or Stop and frisk is a term used to describe the powers of the police to search a person, place or object without first making an arrest. A 2021 survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights found that minority ethnic ...

. She has also been involved in welcoming Lewisham people who have become British citizens, after their citizenship ceremony. Sybil Phoenix's life has been used in

Black History Month Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently ...

. Sybil Phoenix was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

local preacher for many years, working closely with the

British Council of Churches Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) is an ecumenical organisation. The members include most of the major churches in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. CTBI is registered at Companies House with number 05661787. Its office is in Ce ...

to forge links between peoples of all faiths. While based at Clubland Methodist Mission on Walworth Road in South London, Sybil Phoenix was instrumental in setting up anti-racist training for members of the clergy, known as the Methodist Leadership Racism Awareness Workshop (MELRAW) and as Director she took this work to many countries around the world. She occasionally acted as a

Minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

for Guyana, and for this was awarded the Medal of Service by Guyana in 1987. Sybil Phoenix also worked for the Community Liaison Scheme, and as Vice-Chair of Lewisham Council for Community Relations. In 1993 she was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by

Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

for her services to the local community. In 1996, Sybil Phoenix was made an Honorary Freeman of the Borough of Lewisham, and in 1998 was awarded the

Freedom of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

. From 1998 to 1999, she was Civic Mayoress of Lewisham. She was elevated to OBE in June 2008."Sybil Phoenix honoured again"
I Rise, 17 June 2008.

References

External links

Yvonne Field Yvonne Field OBE is a social justice advocate and social entrepreneur focusing on community wealth-building and is founder and CEO oThe Ubele Initiative She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2023 Birthday Hono ...

Mrs Sybil Phoenix MBE MS: a profile
Marsha Phoenix Memorial Trust website; accessed 14 May 2017. * .
"loving hands - the story of Sybil Phoenix"
Vimeo.com; accessed 14 May 2017.
"The Documentary" (episode 2)

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

; accessed 14 May 2017.
Women in History
guyanesegirlsrock.org; accessed 14 May 2017. {{morecat, date=March 2022 Living people Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Georgetown, Guyana 1927 births Guyanese emigrants to the United Kingdom

Biography

References

Further reading

External links