The Activists’ Guide for Encouraging Your Local School to go further than Black History Month
We joke about how 2020 needs to be forgotten. But there are some things we cannot, or do not, want to forget. We can’t forget the video of George Floyd’s murder and we don’t want to forget how people of all religions, races, genders, sexual orientations stood up and said enough is enough and that Black Lives Matter (BLM) in protests across the world.
The BLM movement ignited people to ask – why has this happened and what can I do about it? People don’t want to live in a world where it’s possible for a man to die at the hands of the state because of his race. Our sense of humanity has become globalised, and for many the answer is to build a future world where intolerance and hatred based on race doesn’t exist. And if ever there was a ‘quick-win’ on this agenda it would be making sure the next generation has that world. Parents want that world for their children. Parents literally have the Martin Luther King Junior dream, where their children live ‘in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character’.
So, inevitably parents and guardians have started prodding their children’s schools. Asking, “What exactly are you teaching my child about our Black British history?”. Disappointingly, it seems the majority of time the answer to that question has been: ‘We already teach Black History Month!’. This answer leads to frustration, embarrassment and disillusionment. Frustration at the limitation of black history month, embarrassment that this is the first time as a parent they realise this was their child’s school’s approach to Black British history, and disillusionment in the British education system that they had entrusted their child into.
What is the difference between Black History Month and Black British History?
Black History is British History. The history of the UK includes the people that migrated to and from this country AND the reasons why. For example, the economic history; with the teaching of the Industrial Revolution, young people should learn where the cotton came from? To consider when, why and how sugar, tea and coffee became an essential part of the British palate. What is ‘British’? British isn’t a race, so what people make up this group of people?
Black History Month is labelled a celebration. Often described as a time to ‘recognise the contribution of Black people’. The fact that time has been set aside to recognise the contribution of Black people means that at some subconscious level everyone knows the system doesn’t recognise them. Black History Month itself is not integrated into the school system. The fact is that Black History Month is optional – it’s not mandatory. There are plenty of schools that do nothing for Black History Month or worse, do it really badly. I know someone who put her child in a new school and discovered that their version of Black History
Month was playing a movie about the starving children in Africa and suggesting that the children in the school should be grateful for what they have. A school that says they do Black History Month doesn’t actually determine that there is any quality in what they are doing. The meaning of Black History Month is varied in every town and school. There would need to be some accountability and quality assurance of the actual content of the Black History Month and how Black history is in the content of the curriculum.
Another phrase that is currently used, often for higher and further education is to ‘decolonise the curriculum’. Specifically, this approach aims to change the way colonial history is taught. This could be in the choice of reading materials in English literature courses not representing the literature giants of Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Or the types of identifiable symptoms in medical school being Eurocentric, leading to worse health outcomes for Black and Asian people e.g., doctors not trained to identify skin conditions differently for people with darker skins.
What DO you say when your child’s school says that they already teach Black History Month?
You need to encourage the school to understand that black history isn’t a month. The Black Curriculum promote the hashtag #TBH365 (Teach Black History, 365 days of the year).
There are a variety of questions to ask your school to interrogate if they are serious about Black history. But first of all, familiarise yourself with what the curriculum requirements actually are for schools. Then work your way through these questions:
● What are your plans for integrating Black history into the curriculum?
● The depth of the Black history curriculum. Not just Mary Seacole to be a comparison to Florence Nightingale.
● Are images of Black people used when teaching other historical topics like the Tudors etc? (Yes, there were Black Tudors! [see Miranda Kaufmann’s’ The Black Tudors.]
● Are British icons taught? Or is it all Malcom X, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King? And if these icons from the USA are taught can they explain how they make them relevant to British children?
● What is the curriculum for Black history for each year group? Do they learn the same thing EVERY year?
● Can you explain exactly where Black history appears in different parts of the curriculum wider than history e.g., for example, does the music curriculum teach about Samuel Coleridge-Taylor?
● What races are the characters on the covers of the books in class or on the posters?
● Do teachers have particular training on Black history as it isn’t covered in teacher training courses?
● Who decides on what Black history is taught? [ask to speak to the curriculum lead].
● What percentage of your teachers are from ethnic minority backgrounds?
● What percentage of the senior team are from ethnic minority backgrounds?
And a killer question: ‘What is Black history to you?’. If you are feeling brave, the way a person answers this question will give you a sense of what they really think about Black history and whether it should be in the curriculum.
Finally, if you are thinking about asking your child’s school about the content of the curriculum, be ready for a war not a battle. Here are some tips for your approach:
● Be prepared to ask the question more than once.
● Don’t accept a verbal update, ask for a response in writing. Ask to see the curriculum plan.
● Are there other parents that feel that the curriculum is not representative? Come together and form a parent/guardian working group. Strength in
numbers.
● If you have capacity, you could offer to help the school and actually shape the curriculum yourself.
● Be inclusive and intersectional. Question how appropriate the curriculum is for all groups.
● Give the school time to respond and set a deadline. For example, end an email with ‘Please respond by [insert date].
● Ask to have a meeting – this will give them time to gather information and respond appropriately with consideration.
● Find an ally in the school. Often there are teachers that want to decolonise the curriculum, they can work with you and guide you on how to prod their school.
● Consider how you can get more involved in scrutinising the curriculum. Are you or anyone you know a governor for the school? Maybe you should sign-up!
Ultimately, don’t rely on the government to educate your child. Do some home schooling to top-up the gap. You can learn with your child – there is so much history to discover. David Olusoga has written ‘Black and British: A short, essential history’ as an introduction to Black British history for readers of aged 12+. Learning doesn’t just mean academics. Visit the Nubian
Jak community plaques and talk about the stories, visit the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool.
Step in The Black Curriculum. We deliver our courses with a group of trained educators and facilitators. Going into schools to teach and work directly with young people and train teachers. You can access their resources to support you to build your knowledge, and teach your children. Sign-up for the newsletters, the fanzine and lobby the government.
Seeds of meaningful change
Black History Month does serve a purpose, and we should use it effectively to raise awareness. It was during October that Black Labour MPs, including frontbenchers Chi Onwurah and Abena Oppong-Asare, called on the government during a Commons debate to reform the curriculum to include more Black British history. Read the Hansard record of the debate here – it presents all sides of the argument.
This November, Steve McQueen’s Small Axe first aired on Sunday’s on BBC One. There has never been a prime-time, quality, visual expression of recent Black British history on TV like this. The first episode, Mangrove, presents the reality of police brutality - a David and Goliath story of a community restaurant and individuals battling for their rights.
This entire debate makes you think beyond, ‘Why isn’t Black British history being taught?’, to the wider question of ‘If Black British history isn’t being taught, what other parts of British history have been omitted?’.
There is no one silver bullet that will fix this. Everyone who cares needs to play their part. The Black Curriculum will do its part, using the platform it has to lobby government, provide resources and train teachers. But there are teachers, governors, parliamentarians who are all working towards the same aim. And hopefully, this blog will give activist parents and guardians a little more support in the steps they are taking to push schools in the right direction. You aren’t alone, keep pushing!
