Controversy: Mary Seacole and Olaudah Equiano

Greetings,

Controversy has arisen in the UK regarding plans to remove the histories of Mary Seacole and Olaudah Equiano from the British National Curriculum. According to reports, British children will learn about traditional historical figures such as Oliver Cromwell and Winston Churchill. The histories of Mary Seacole and Olaudah Equiano will be options. 

Erased From History: Seacole Could Be Wiped From Schoolbooks - The Voice, Monday January 14. 2013

I remember, to some extent, my history lessons at high school in the UK. The teacher (a very knowledgeable gentleman on his subject matter) who taught my class history, spoke at length about the Vikings, William the Conqueror, Wars of the Roses, Henry the VIII, The Battle of Hastings (1066), The Domesday Book,  Bayeux Tapestry, Magna Carta,The Duke of Wellington, the Battle of Waterloo, Lord Horatio Nelson, the Battle of Trafalgar, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Francis Drake, Queen Elizabeth I, The Spanish Armada, Oliver Cromwell, The Reformation, and other British historical figures, sites and events.


Gove faces war with equality activists as he axes Labour's PC curriculum that dropped greatest figures from history lessons - Mail Online, Saturday December 29, 2012

I must say though, in all fairness, the history lessons were very interesting and very informative. However, as a curious twelve-year-old British born Jamaican pupil listening to the information being imparted to me, in my mind were the questions: Where do I fit in to all of this? Who in British history represents me?  

'You should be concerned' - Jamaica Observer, Tuesday January 15, 2013

 Don't Consign Mary Seacole to history, Michael Gove is urged - The Independent, Friday January 04, 2013

My parents had experienced a different kind of history. Later on in their lives they learned some of their true African/Caribbean history. They told me as much as they could about British colonialism, and slavery. I was told also about my connection to the African ancestors who were captured in their West Africa homeland by the slave traders. They were shipped to Britain, Europe, North America, and the West Indies, to be sold and used as a slave workforce. I mention this because it is important to bear in mind that in my parents' day, Jamaican schoolchildren living in colonial Jamaica, were taught about Queen Victoria, William Wilberforce, David Livingstone, and Florence Nightingale.

In a peculiar kind of way, it is possible that history may repeat itself.

Readers who may not have a clue about Mary Seacole and Olaudah Equiano, and their relevance to Black History (Africa/Caribbean) AND British History, please click on the following:

Mary Seacole  

Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands, by Mary Seacole   

Olaudah Equiano

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African, by Olaudah Equiano

Please see petition to retain Mary Seacole and Olaudah Equiano in the British National Curriculum, on the Operation Black Vote website

Blessings,

Grace 

P.S: since this posting,  "VICTORY! MARY SEACOLE STAYS ON THE NATIONAL CURRICULUM"         (see press for details)