(Chipping
Barnet) (Con):...Most important of all, I want more black history
to be taught in the classroom because I want children from BAME
communities to understand that people of colour have been a crucial
part of our island story for very nearly 2,000 years. I want them
to know that it was not just William Wilberforce who campaigned to
abolish the slave trade, but such people as Olaudah Equiano, who
had themselves been enslaved but who achieved freedom, fame and
success against incredible odds and adversity. I want them to know
about Ignatius Sancho, who in 1782 was the first black writer in
prose to be published in this country. I want them to know about
Tom Molineaux, the boxer and former slave who should have been the
England heavyweight champion in 1810, if he had not been unfairly
robbed of the title by an underhand trick. I want them to know
about , who became the first black police officer as far back as
1837. I want them to know about thousands of soldiers from Africa,
the Caribbean and Indiawho fought and died for
this country in two world wars.
Taking the Indian subcontinent as just one
example, 1.27 million men served in the British Army in the first
world war, including in the blood-soaked killing fields of the
western front and Gallipoli. More than 2.5 million men from the
area now covered by India Pakistan and
Bangladesh volunteered for service in world war two, producing
the largest volunteer army in history...
The Minister for School Standards ():...At key stage 3, as part of the teaching of the
overarching theme of Britain from 1745 to 1901, topics could
include Britain’s transatlantic slave trade, its effect and its
eventual abolition, and the development of the British empire.
Key stage 3 also requires teaching of at least one study of a
significant society or issue in world history and its
interconnections with other world developments, with examples
including Mughal India from 1526 to 1857,
China’s Qing dynasty from—as I am sure you know, Madam Deputy
Speaker—1644 to 1911 and the USA in the 20th century...
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