Sylvia Elaine Denman (1932-2019) was a British academic, barrister, and public servant known for her work in advancing race relations in the United Kingdom.
Her most well known work was in authoring the Denman Report.
Early life
She was born in Barbados to Euleen and Alexander Yarde and attended
Queen's College, before moving to London to study law at the
London School of Economics. She then trained as a barrister and was called to the bar at
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...
in 1962.
Career
Herman began her career as an academic, holding positions at
Oxford Polytechnic, 1965-76 (which became Oxford Brookes University),
New York University, and in the West Indies.
She served on the boards of the
Race Relations Board The Race Relations Board was established in 1966 following the passage of the Race Relations Act 1965. The act specified that the board should consist of a chairman and two other members. Its remit was to consider complaints under the Act. It dealt ...
, the
Equal Opportunities Commission, the
Housing Corporation
The Housing Corporation was the non-departmental public body that funded new affordable housing and regulated housing associations in England. It was established by the Housing Act 1964. On 1 December 2008, its functions were transferred to two n ...
,
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic (United Kingdom), Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and High ...
,
Haverstock School, the
Runnymede Trust, and as chair of the
Camden and Islington health authority.
From 1999 to 2001, she chaired an inquiry into race discrimination in the
Crown Prosecution Service, which found it to be
institutionally racist
Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of racism that is embedded in the laws and regulations of a society or an organization. It manifests as discrimination in areas such as criminal justice, employment, housing, health ...
.
Personal life
She was appointed CBE in 1994.
She received an honorary degree from
Birmingham City University.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denman, Sylvia
1932 births
2019 deaths
British academics
British people of Barbadian descent