Anthony Joshua, Gus Casely-Hayford, Kenya King and More Receive UK's Highest Honors
These extraordinary people were recently appointed OBEs and CBEs by the Queen.
It's #Goals month here at OkayAfrica, and we're celebrating aspirational Africans making waves in their respective fields with an emphasis on sports and athleticism, in conjunction with the 2018 World Cup.
Just in time for this month's theme, Queen of England has released her bi-annual Honors List, which awards some of the UK's most accomplished citizens with the highest honors.
World heavyweight boxer, Anthony Joshua, was appointed Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contribution to the sport. This isn't his first honor from the Queen either, in 2013 he was awarded an MBE for winning an Olympic gold medal in boxing the previous year.
A very accomplished pair of Ghanian and Sierra Leonean siblings were both honored this year as well. Augustus Casely-Hayford, the accomplished cultural historian and director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art was awarded an OBE for his contribution to arts and culture, along with his sister Margaret Casely-Hayford, chair of Shakespeare's Globe and chancellor of Coventry University, who received a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE). Excellence certainly runs in the family. Their brother, the fashion designer Joe Casely-Hayford was appointed an OBE back in 2007 as well.
We spoke with Augustus Casely-Hayford about the importance of preserving African history through art last month.
The founder of the MOBO awards, Kanya King also received a CBE from the Queen, as well as British soccer player Jermain Defoe who was appointed OBE for his contribution to soccer and for his community work through the Jermain Defoe Foundation for homeless and vulnerable youth.
