{"id":229,"date":"2020-06-23T10:36:35","date_gmt":"2020-06-23T09:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/pgrsociology\/?p=229"},"modified":"2021-04-29T14:56:11","modified_gmt":"2021-04-29T13:56:11","slug":"why-a-change-to-the-black-history-taught-in-uk-schools-is-long-overdue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/pgrsociology\/2020\/06\/23\/why-a-change-to-the-black-history-taught-in-uk-schools-is-long-overdue\/","title":{"rendered":"Why a change to the black history taught in UK schools is long overdue"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kyla Scott <\/strong>(@__kylascott<\/a>) is a third year Sociology undergraduate at Newcastle University. In the second of the<\/em> Black Lives Matter <\/strong>blog series<\/em>, she writes about the lack of black representation in the British school curriculum as well as the glossing over of the reality of the British Empire.<\/i> She argues that as long as British history in schools continues to glorify the patriotic narrative of empire and Britain’s imperialist past, a nationalist and racist narrative will continue to shape British society.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the three weeks since the murder\nof George Floyd by a police officer in America, there has been a surge in\nexisting calls to address the long-standing whitewashed and Eurocentric British\neducation system. In particular, the current curriculum is criticised for\nfailing to acknowledge the wider reality of the British empire and the UK\u2019s\nrole in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and for not including positive black\nrole models who are significant to British history. \u2018The Black Curriculum\u2019, an educational social\nenterprise which aims to address the lack of black history in the UK curriculum\nargues that the: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCurrent History National Curriculum\nsystematically omits the contribution of Black British history in favour of a\ndominant White, Eurocentric curriculum that fails to reflect our multi ethnic\nand broadly diverse society\u201d (The Black Curriculum, 2020: 2). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the current British school curriculum does acknowledge<\/em>\nthe slave trade and currently covers a range of topics during Black History\nMonth, these are not covered in great depth or detail, with the National\nEducation Union adding this week: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 “We must improve the curriculum so that students learn about how Britain was founded on global histories. Students should learn about the achievements and roles of black Britons in every field of human endeavour” (National Education Union, 2020). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is clear, even from my own educational experience,\nthat the current teaching curriculum in schools does not go far enough to\naddress the atrocities of the British empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current conversations about statues across the country highlight how considerations about black history have previously been missed. For example, the pulling down of the Edward Colston statue in Bristol during the recent Black Lives Matter protests and the negative reactions to this has highlighted a deep lack of knowledge about slavery in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bristol:
Bristol: Plinth of Edward Colston statue following the statue’s removal by protesters during a Black Lives Matter protest on 7th June, 2020.
Photo credit: <\/em>Phil Riley, B24\/7<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

There had already been calls for the statue to be removed\nas it was a celebration of an individual involved directly in the slave trade,\nbut these went unheard. There\nhave been protests against other statues across the country, included one of\nWinston Churchill in London, which was vandalised during the Black Lives Matter\nprotests. These protests have been met by a defence for Churchill that\nresonates with the way that he is portrayed in the GCSE curriculum: a \u2018hero\u2019\nwho ended World War Two. This representation crucially omits his direct\nresponsibility in the Bengal Famine and his controversial views on eugenics, which\nI know from personal experience are not taught on the current UK curriculum. Misconceptions\nabout Churchill and wider British history are rooted in the history (mis)taught\nin UK schools. This is then reflected through the lack of awareness about how\nstatues are seen by many as problematic. This was also seen locally in\nNewcastle when self-defined \u2018statue defenders\u2019 at \u2018All Lives Matter\u2019 protests\ncongregated around Grey\u2019s Monument in the city centre as they believed the Black\nLives Matter protesters were aiming to deface the statue. The swift call to\narms from the statue defenders clearly didn\u2019t allow for enough time to research\nthe subject of their defence as Earl Grey oversaw the Slavery abolition Act in\n1833. Rather, the Black Lives Matter protesters were seeking the removal of\nstatues of historical figures who were pro-slavery or racist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another broader implication of a lack of black history\nbeing taught in the UK curriculum means a large part of our heritage and\npersonal family involvement in colonialism is omitted from history lessons.\nThis is important as \u201cto leave this history out denies the existence of a\nsection of the British population giving an incomplete understanding of British\nsociety and its development\u201d (Visram, 1994: 57). This can have a deep impact on\nthe lives of black pupils as the history they are being taught does not relate\nto their own histories and how these are entwined with Britishness. When\nschools do teach black history, it is mostly done by placing black history\nwithin superficial discussions of slavery or the American Civil Rights changes\nduring the 1960s, further distancing black pupils from their heritage and the\nrole of Britain in the reproduction of racial formations. \u201cThe black curriculum\nseeks to teach black history beyond slavery. The students that we have taught\nhave really benefited from seeing themselves in positive roles\u2026[t]hat it wasn\u2019t\njust slaves\u201d (The Black Curriculum, 2020). In doing this, black pupils have the\nopportunity to develop a sense of belong to their past. It is also important\nfor white pupils to critically engage in Britain\u2019s history of treatment of\nblack people in order to understand racism in the present. With this knowledge,\nchildren can then become more confident to call out racism when they see it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How you can help<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are various petitions circulating online that are seeking for parliament to implement changes to the current UK curriculum (e.g. here<\/a> and here<\/a>). Alongside signing these, it is important that we all take an active role in educating ourselves on the topics missed from our own education through reading and engaging with a broader understanding of British history. Whilst educating ourselves, uncomfortable conversations with friends and families need to happen in order to use privilege to fight racism.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

_______<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visram, R. (1994). British history:\nWhose history? Black perspectives on British History. Teaching History<\/em>. London: Routledge.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Black Curriculum (2020). Black British history in the national curriculum report<\/a>.<\/em>  (31.02.2020) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Education Union (2020). Black Lives Matter<\/a>. <\/em> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kyla Scott (@__kylascott) is a third year Sociology undergraduate at Newcastle University. In the second of the Black Lives Matter blog series, she writes about the lack of black representation in the British school curriculum as well as the glossing … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7295,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blm-series","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/pgrsociology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/pgrsociology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/pgrsociology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/pgrsociology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7295"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/pgrsociology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/pgrsociology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":290,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/pgrsociology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229\/revisions\/290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/pgrsociology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/pgrsociology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/pgrsociology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}