“We have existed in Britain and been pioneers, inventors, icons. And then colonialism happened, and that has shaped the experiences of black people – but that is not all we are.”
These are the words of Lavinya Stennett, founder of The Black Curriculum, an organisation which teaches black British history in schools – and is campaigning for Education Secretary Gavin Williamson to make it compulsory.
The death of George Floyd in America has inspired thousands of people in Britain to demand justice, marching through the streets of our biggest cities.
Black Lives Matter protesters here insist that the UK “is not innocent”. But some commentators have questioned whether racism exists in Britain, and to what extent.
George The Poet, who was questioned about this on Newsnight, believes a lack of education about black British history – and the British Empire – plays a part in racism in the UK and our discussions about it.
A lot of the time, we start with black history in London – it’s London-centric. But a lot of Glasgow’s wealth actually comes from the tobacco, the sugar, the cotton that was created and sustained by enslaved people in Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados,”
Many of Glasgow’s prominent city centre streets are named after 18th Century slave owners who made fortunes from plantations.
“You’re told that black people were slaves, but you’re not told the fruits of their labour are actually the streets we walk on.”
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