'Emotional' Benjamin Zephaniah mural unveiled

A mural of Benjamin Zephaniah has been unveiled in Birmingham, with the late poet's brother describing it as "emotional".

Tippa Naphtali said he had attended "so many" events for his brother since his passing in 2023, but admitted each one got easier because "we recognise that people loved him so much".

The new artwork is located at Acorns Hospice and was shown for the first time on Friday afternoon.

Speaking at the event, Mr Naphtali said: "It's such a wonderful location that does such wonderful work."

He added: "It's been fantastic today and really enjoyable.

"The team at Acorns have been wonderful. We have been working with them for about a year.

"They have been supportive, they supported the artist and gave him access [to the site] and we're here today, a culmination of a year's work."

Asked how his brother would have reacted to the mural, Mr Naphtali said: "If he was here he'd probably have been jigging about, making up a poem on the spot and insisting on seeing some of the children.

"He would have loved it. It's such a shame we didn't do this when he was still with us."

It comes after a similar piece of art was painted over in 2024.

Birmingham City Council issued an apology after a sub-contractor painted over the mural in an underpass in Hockley.

Mr Naphtali praised the city council for addressing the problem "very quickly".

He said: "We met literally weeks after here, at Acorns, to talk about how we would move forward and relocate the mural to these gardens.

"It all turned out well in the end."

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