Channel 4’s show, ‘The School That Tried To End Racism’ stunned viewers last week with its story on the National Portrait Gallery. They were exposed to slaves of the 1800s where the children were told that in 1833, the slaves were ‘bought’ out from their owners by the government as slavery was abolished. Rather than giving slaves a new life, the owners were left with a hefty payout which they were only able to pay off in full by 2015. That’s 182 years later.
A Twitter user @numera20 posted: “Watching ‘the school that tried to end racism’ brought back my own experiences of being an asian kid in a school of predominantly white background. I never talk about my experiences of racism, you become immune after a while but it hits home when young pupils experience it.” Another user, @daisyeye1 said: “I can't be the only person who thinks of the Ch4 prog. 'The School That Tried To End Racism' is the most disgusting, sickening piece of tv in recent memory. It's using children as lab rats and exploiting them for an adult virtue signalling. Shame on all involved.”
An online publication reported that other students of Asian descent also spoke out about being considered ‘other’ in the debate black and white, and they felt they weren’t accurately represented in a ‘black and minority ethnic [BAME]’ category.
