There is an ongoing debate within the education system about the importance of teaching pupils the truth about British colonialism including those aspects of it that are less than stellar.
Britain seems to be quite happy to talk about its colonial past, as long as it’s framed in terms of pride in the British empire. However, a protest on 9 January by student campaign Fill in the Blanks sought to disrupt popular narratives around British colonialism.
Led by sixth form students from South London, all of whom have family from former British colonies the campaign demands the teaching of British colonial history for all students in the UK, where there is currently only one optional insufficient module available.
The students distributed 5000 ‘newspapers’ at 20 different tube stations around London which reported the headline: Boris backs Empire education.
The intention was to spark discussions around the importance of teaching the true impact of Britain’s colonial history in schools.
The colonisation of non-European nations effectively resulted in mass occupation, systematic plundering of resources, dehumanisation of enslaved people, and, unquestionably, numerous genocides. The damage caused underpins calls for reparations to former colonies.
But awareness around the atrocities of the British empire is so poor that in 2015, for a debate on reparations, Oxford Union decided that having a ‘colonial comeback’ cocktail to promote the event was a good idea. The poster advertising the event featured an image of Black hands in chains.
This incident demonstrates how easy it is for British people to overlook the harm caused by the British empire, particularly if they do not descend from people who were colonised. But for those of us who do, the spectre of colonialism continues to loom large. It’s why former colonies continue to struggle under the weight of poverty and the crime and corruption emerging from it.
It’s why grandparents came here in the 60s in search of a better life for their children only to be told to ‘go back to where they came from’. Ambalavaner Sivanandan, a renowned British sociologist who passed away in 2018 said about immigration, “We are here because you were there”.
The work being done by Fill in the Blanks shows there’s a will among young people to have this conversation. If schools start teaching an honest account of the British empire, future generations might be better equipped to let go of the prejudice and bigotry that is Britain’s colonial legacy.
