In light of recent events and the global uproar surrounding George Floyd’s death, this is my response to an article originally published 5 months ago on The Guardian.
The British empire colonised, slaughtered, raped and exploited. The empire was responsible for famine, apartheid, slavery and the erasure of cultures globally. The BE stole what they liked and trashed what they didn’t like.
At school in compulsory history classes, we only really looked at the other side of the coin. The “benefits” of imperialism a.k.a the BE standing on the shoulders of all the nations they’d trashed, to seem taller and more almighty.
As a British citizen, I’m not proud of this legacy. As a brown person, I’m a victim of this legacy.
We need to broaden the curriculum to paint the full picture. We should be inviting post-colonial voices and looking at the impact of the BE from other perspectives. We should be encouraging critical thinking, not blind patriotism, racism and xenophobia. We should be planting the seeds of compassion, understanding and remorse among kids: they’re the future and have the power to make the world way less of a fucked up place 💜🌍
Please sign the following petitions online and do your part to push for change:
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Amend the British School Curriculum to Teach About Racism and British History
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Make white privilege and systemic racism a compulsory part of the British education course
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Include Black British History in the national education curriculum
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Introduce mandatory teaching of British colonial history to the national curriculum
