Adeshola Mos-Shogbamimu (néeBabington-Ashaye) is a British-Nigerian lawyer and academic, notable as an activist and political commentator. She frequently comments on women's rights, law, politics, diversity, inequality and exclusion.[1] Her debut book, This is Why I Resist, was described in The Telegraph as "an unapologetic declaration that black identity will no longer be defined by white supremacy, and an unfettered call to action to revolutionise the narrative around the black experience in our day-to-day lives."[2]
Adeshola Babington-Ashaye was born in Hackney, London to Nigerian parents. She was raised in London, Nigeria, and the United States, and lived in East Africa when her mother was working for the Commonwealth of Nations.[2] Speaking of how she has been influenced by her Nigerian heritage, she has said: "My parents brought me up with a really strong identity of who I am and so I have never felt inferior due to the colour of my skin, being a woman or gender. I would use the word feminist to describe my father. He was the first male feminist I knew."[3]
In June 2020 Vogue magazine named her among "8 Educational Black Voices To Listen And Learn From Now".[6] She is the founder of the magazine Women in Leadership.[5][7] She appears on television as a commentator on issues related to politics, current affairs, race and diversity.[8][9] She has been particularly outspoken about what she perceives to be the negative media treatment of "women of colour" who are in the public eye, such as Serena Williams and Meghan Markle.[9][10] In 2019 Mos-Shogbamimu delivered a TEDx Talk entitled "This is why I resist", in which she explained why she refuses to be defined by the colour of her skin, her gender or religion, engaging her audience with her views on feminism and politics, and encouragement to join her "conscious revolution".[11] In March 2021 she engaged with Piers Morgan in a debate as a guest on Good Morning Britain discussing the Oprah with Meghan and Harry interview.[12][13]
Responding to an incident publicized in April 2023 in which the 14th Dalai Lama kissed a child on the lips and asked the child to suck his tongue, Mos-Shogbamimu stated that child molestation must not be normalized under the guise of playful behavior.[14]
Her first book, This Is Why I Resist: Don't Define My Black Identity, was published in January 2021. It aimed to address the nuances and intricacies of "race, racism and race inclusion" terminology.[15]
On 20 February 2023, Mos-Shogbamimu reported that she had received a "chilling" letter, ostensibly from the proscribed neo-Nazi terrorist group National Action, that contained death threats directed at her and her family,[16] the same day that transgender television personality India Willoughby reported receiving a similarly threatening letter from the same group. The following day, it was announced that the Metropolitan Police's counter-terrorism command had launched an investigation into the threats.[17]
