From Activism to Asset: What Lady Phyll Can Teach Every Leader About Building a Lasting Legacy
We often mistake “legacy” for the things we accumulate, wealth, awards, or job titles. But a true legacy isn’t what you have; it’s what you build. More importantly, it’s what you build for others to inherit. A true legacy is a platform. It’s a solution. It’s a story so powerful that it shapes the future.
Learn How to Leverage Your Story through our Story To Asset Framework.
For Established Diaspora Leaders and Multi-Generational Family Businesses, this is the final frontier of success. You’ve built the company, you’ve made the revenue, you’ve won the clients. Now, the question that echoes in the quiet moments is: “Will this last? Will my ‘why’ be remembered?”
If you want a blueprint for how to answer that question, you don’t need to look at a stock portfolio. You need to look at the life and work of Phyllis Akua Opoku-Gyimah, known as Lady Phyll.
Her journey from a community organizer to the founder of the world’s largest celebration for LGBTQ+ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Middle Eastern, and Latin American descent is a masterclass in transforming personal experience into a powerful, permanent legacy asset.
For the leader thinking, “How do I package my 20+ years of expertise?”—Lady Phyll’s story is your guide.
Identifying the “Why” (The Lived Experience)
Every revolutionary business or movement starts with a simple, painful realization: “This isn’t good enough.”
In 2005, Lady Phyll and a group of other queer Black women from the group Black Lesbians in the UK (BLUK) organized a simple trip to the seaside town of Southend-On-Sea. The sense of community, safety, and shared understanding they felt on that trip was profound. It was also a stark contrast to the world outside.
This wasn’t just a casual observation; it was a data-driven one.
At the time, the UK’s political climate was fraught. The far-right British National Party (BNP) was gaining traction, stoking a “heightened political surge” of racist, homophobic, and misogynistic propaganda. The BNP would go on to win over 50 council seats in the 2006 local elections. This was the backdrop.
Simultaneously, mainstream LGBTQ+ Pride events, while important, often failed to address the specific, intersectional challenges of being both Black and queer. As Lady Phyll noted, they needed a space that “talks about our lived experiences and celebrates ourselves.”
For the Diaspora Leader & Family Business:
This is the genesis of your legacy. Your “why” is not a corporate mission statement; it’s your “Southend-on-Sea moment.”
- For the CEO/Coach: It’s the frustration you felt for 20 years, seeing clients failed by a one-size-fits-all approach. It’s the unique insight you gained from your specific cultural and professional journey. That “gap” you saw isn’t a problem; it’s the blueprint for your proprietary solution.
- For the Family Business: It’s the moment your grandparents refused to cut corners on quality, even when it cost them. It’s the 50-year-old story of craftsmanship that explains why your product is premium.
Lady Phyll didn’t just have an opinion; she identified a critical gap in the “market” of community and safety. She understood her audience’s pain point because it was her pain point.
See also The Legacy of NC Mutual: Why Your Story is an Asset That Can’t Be Liquidated
Building the “How” (The Proprietary Solution)
An idea is a spark. A legacy asset is the fire you build from it.
Lady Phyll and her co-founders didn’t just keep going on seaside trips. They did what all great founders do: they codified the solution. They transformed that feeling—that “lived experience”, into an institution: UK Black Pride.
This is the crucial pivot from activist to architect.
- In 2005, it began as a small gathering, a few hundred people finding community.
- By 2019, it was attracting over 10,000 people to Haggerston Park in London.
- In 2023, after moving to the iconic Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, UK Black Pride saw over 25,000 attendees, making it the largest event of its kind in the world.
This growth is not an accident. It’s the result of creating a scalable, replicable, and desperately needed solution. UK Black Pride isn’t just a party; it’s a platform, an advocacy group, and a vital community hub.
For the Diaspora Leader & Family Business:
This is the work we do in our Legacy Signature Program. We help you stop being the “expert-for-hire” and become the “architect-of-the-solution.”
Your 20+ years of knowledge, your unique way of solving problems, your “lived experience”—that is your proprietary methodology. It’s the “how” that only you can deliver. But as long as it stays locked in your head, it has no value beyond your own time.
Like Lady Phyll, you must package it.
- For the Coach: Your one-on-one sessions are your “Southend trip.” Your Legacy Signature Program is the “UK Black Pride”—the scalable system that can impact thousands.
- For the Founder: Your business’s success is built on your unique approach. That approach, when articulated and packaged, becomes a Legacy Book that makes you the undeniable authority in your industry.
UK Black Pride is Lady Phyll’s signature program. What is yours?
Defining the Narrative (The Unshakeable Asset)
This final phase is what separates a successful person from a true legacy-builder. It’s the moment you stop letting others define your story and you seize control of the narrative.
In 2016, Lady Phyll was nominated for an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire). For many, this is the pinnacle of public recognition.
Lady Phyll turned it down.
This “no” was more powerful than any “yes” she could have given. Her reasoning was a masterclass in narrative control. She explained that she could not, in good conscience, accept an award tied to an “empire” that still had a toxic, enduring legacy.
This wasn’t just a feeling; it was a fact.
As of 2024, 34 of the 56 Commonwealth countries—nations once part of the British Empire—still have laws that criminalize homosexuality. The vast majority of these laws are direct relics of British colonial rule.
By refusing the MBE, Lady Phyll wasn’t just making a statement; she was publishing her own story. She was telling the world, “I will not let my legacy be defined by an institution that contradicts my life’s work. I will define it myself.”
For the Diaspora Leader & Family Business:
If you don’t write your own story, history—or your competitors—will write it for you.
Your legacy isn’t just about what you did; it’s about why you did it, on your terms. This is the power of a Legacy Book or a Legacy Film.
- The Legacy Book: This is your “MBE refusal.” It is your definitive, unshakeable statement. It’s where you crystallize your 20+ years of expertise, your unique message, and your vision for the next generation. It’s the asset that makes you the authority.
- The Legacy Film: This is how you immortalize the narrative. Lady Phyll’s story is now part of British history, captured in statues and documentaries. A cinematic film translates your “why,” your 50-year family history, or your groundbreaking journey into an emotional asset that builds trust and connects with generations to come.
Lady Phyll’s legacy is not just the event of UK Black Pride. It’s the story of why it was necessary and the courage to define its terms.
Your Legacy Is Your Most Valuable Asset
Lady Phyll’s journey provides the three-part blueprint for every established leader:
- Identify Your “Why”: Find the “lived experience” and the “gap in the market” that only you can see.
- Build Your “How”: Package that “why” into a scalable, proprietary solution—your Signature Program, your system, your business.
- Define Your “What”: Control your narrative and immortalize your story with an unshakeable asset, be it a book or a film, that defines you for generations.
You have already built a successful business. You have already accumulated the expertise. Your story—your 20+ years of work—is the most valuable asset you own.
It’s time to package it for the next generation.
Before you plan your next move, let’s immortalize your ‘why.’ Book your free 15-minute Legacy Strategy Call today to design the asset that will tell your story for the next 50 years.
