UK Trade Union Movement Give Full Backing to the Mary Seacole Campaign

UK Trade Union Movement Give Full Backing to the

Mary Seacole Campaign

The campaign to keep Mary Seacole on the national history curriculum has gained widespread support including from the trade union movement. The campaign is organised by Operation Black Vote, Patrick Vernon, founder of 100 Great Black Britons, Professor Elizabeth Anionwu, Khi Rafe, community advocate, Lester Holloway, Lib Dem Race Equality Taskforce, Juliet Alexander, Broadcaster and myself Zita Holbourne, Co-founder of BARAC UK .

Amongst the 70 plus well-known personalities who signed an open letter to Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove  (published in The Times) were several trade union leaders including General Secretaries Mark Serwotka of PCS, Christine Blower of NUT, Mary Bousted of ATL and  Sally Hunt of UCU, the Assistant General Secretary of Unison, Roger McKenzie, former TUC President, Gloria Mills and several members of the TUC Race Relations Committee  together with senior representatives from NUS, PCS, Unite, Unison, CWU, NASUWT and Prospect.

The campaign has been endorsed by the TUC Race Relations Committee who have pledged to donate all proceeds raised at their annual fundraising Dance at the 2013 TUC Black Workers conference to the Mary Seacole Statue Appeal. Planning permission has been given for a bronze statue of Mary in the grounds of St Thomas’s hospital overlooking the Thames but to enable this money needs to be raised. 

 

PCS members in the DfE London and South branch, the government department responsible for the curriculum, have passed a resolution endorsing the campaign to keep Mary Seacole and other black historical figures on the curriculum. 

An Early Day Motion in support of the campaign has been signed by 64 MPs and pressure is mounting on Gove to do the right thing with the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg giving a commitment that Mary Seacole will remain on the curriculum.  

 

I saw a quote recently that said ‘If you don’t know history, you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.’ 

The figures that make up our past are like leaves on a tree. Just as if you were to strip a branch of its leaves, it would be left bare,  if you write historical figures out of the history books there will be blank pages. Leaves come in many shades, shapes and sizes just like the people who make up our history are of different genders, races, backgrounds. Together the leaves ensure the tree is nourished and together a diverse range of historical figures provide nourishment for the mind as well as a true record of what went before.

The Government’s proposal to remove black and women historical figures from the curriculum in favour of what they term more traditional figures is ideological,  like the cuts to jobs, pay, benefits and more that are forcing people into deprivation, they are not based on  logic or aimed at improving lives. Equality is not a priority for the Government which is evident from the cuts to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, their proposals to weaken existing equality legislation and the disproportionate impact that cuts are having on race, gender, disability, age and sexual orientation.

 

If we are selective about the truth we choose to teach the next generation then we begin to teach them a lie and not only will they not draw inspiration from the past they won’t learn from mistakes made either. Carter G Woodson who initiated the idea of a  black history month by establishing a USA negro history week during the month of February in 1926 said; ‘What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice.’  

 

It's quite right that the trade union movement have got behind this campaign because fighting discrimination is a trade union issue. Trade unions can continue to support the campaign by circulating the petition to their members, raising wider awareness in their branches, asking members of their parliamentary groups to sign the EDM, inviting a speaker from the campaign to their meetings and events and organising fundraising initiatives for the Mary Seacole Statue Appeal.

To pledge your support for the campaign sign the petition.

Zita Holbourne is a member of the Mary Seacole Campaign, National Co-Chair of BARAC UK, a member of the TUC Race Relations Committee and of the PCS Union National Executive.

OPEN LETTER TO MICHAEL GOVE MP

Open letter to Rt Michael Gove MP

PUBLISHED IN THE TIMES NEWSPAPER,  9TH JANUARY 2013

(VIA THE OBV WEBSITE)

Dear Rt Michael Gove MP
Remember that glorious summer evening when Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford all won Olympic gold medals? It encapsulated multicultural Britain at its very best.
Given the nation's collective celebration which included who we are and what we achieved, it is deeply disappointing that you as the Secretary of State for Education, are considering removing two great Black  Britons - Mary Seacole and Olaudah Equiano - from the schools curriculum.
You have said, Mr Gove, that you want our children to focus on ‘traditional' figures such as Winston Churchill and Oliver Cromwell. Seacole and Equiano should also be seen in the rich, often traumatic history of Britain as traditional figures: brave, courageous and inspiring.
After all, 80,000 people - the capacity of our Olympic stadium - came out to pay tribute to the extraordinary Seacole on her return from the Crimean War. As for Equiano, there is no doubt that the abolition of slavery would have endured many more years without his passionate Christian narrative which, at the time, shook the establishment to the core.
Today in our schools, children from all backgrounds learn about, and are moved by, the stories of both individuals. It is not political correctness to keep them in, but it is historically and culturally incorrect to remove them from our rich tapestry of history, including the struggle for women's rights.
Even in the 1850s the famed Times reporter Sir W. H Russell said of Mary Seacole: "Let England not forget one who nursed her sick, who sought out her wounded to aid and succour them, and who performed the last offices for some of her illustrious dead.”
That is why thousands of people signed an online petition calling for Seacole not to be removed from the national curriculum. Seacole and Equiano are part of all our histories.
For the benefit of all our children now and in the future, we call upon you Mr Gove to rethink your plans to remove these two great Black Britons from the National Curriculum.
https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/michael-gove-secretary-of-state-for-education-keep-mary-seacole-on-the-national-curriculum

Rev Jesse Jackson Snr
Zadie Smith, Author
Andrea Levy, Author
Pauline Melville, Author
Malorie Blackman, Author
Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE, Playwright
Dr Rob Berkley, Head of Runnymede
Prof Gus John, Educationalist
Greg Jenner, Horrible Histories
Verna Wilkins, Author
Diane Abbott MP
David Lammy MP
Stephen Twigg MP, Shadow Education Secretary
Michael Rosen, Writer and Broadcaster
Paul Reid, Head of Black Cultural Archives
Steve Martin, Historian
Dr Mary Bousted, General Secretary of Association of Lecturers and Teachers
Lord Herman Ouseley
Lord Victor Adebowale CBE
Baroness Lola Young
Bonnie Greer OBE
Christine Blower, General Secretary of the NUT
Lord Herman Ouseley
Garth Crooks, Former Spurs international
Dr Jacqueline Sanchez Taylor, University of Leicester
Professor Julia O'Connell Davidson, Professor of Sociology, University of Nottingham
Gloria Mills CBE, Unison
John McDonnell MP
Baroness Kishwer Falkner
Bonnie Greer OBE
Kate Green MP
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Margaret Busby OBE, Publisher
Simon Woolley, Operation Black Vote
Patrick Vernon OBE, founder of 100 Great Black Britons
Prof Elizabeth Anionwu CBE & FRCN
Alex Pascal
Zita Holbourne, National Co-chair BARAC UK & PCS NEC
Khi Rafe, Community Advocate
Lester Holloway, Lib Dem Race Equality Taskforce
Pav Akhtar, Director UK Black Pride
Amarjite Singh – CWU
Kingsley Abrams, Unite
Sally Hunt, General Secretary UCU
Mark Serwotka, General Secretary of PCS
Dr Mary Bousted, General Secretary of ATL
Lee Jasper, National Co-Chair BARAC UK
George Ruddock, CEO The Voice
Aaron Kieley, NUS Black Students Officer
Jak Beula, Nubian Jak
Maggie Gee, OBE FRSL
George Galloway MP
Freddie Brown, Prospect
Mohammad Taj, Unite
Colette Corkhurst, Equality Officer Unite
Michelle Codrington-Rogers, NASUWT BME Committee
Professor Gargi Bhattacharyya, UCU
Caryl Phillips, Author
Verna Wilkins, Children's Author
Jeannette Arnold OBE AM
Baroness Lola Young OBE
Alex Pascall OBE
Luke Daniels, Caribbean Labour Solidarity
Roger McKenzie OBE, UNISON
Aminatta Forna, Author
Stephen Bourne, Author and Historian
Tony Warner, Black Historical Walks

BLACK HISTORY IS EVERYONE’S HISTORY

BLACK HISTORY IS EVERYONE’S HISTORY

Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove proposes removal of Mary Seacole and Olaudah Equiano from the National Curriculum.

 Historical figures such as Mary Seacole are not just part of black history but British history and everyone’s history. Her achievements in the face of prejudice are inspirational and her contributions are of interest to all children.

When my son was small there was no black history taught in his school and I taught him at home. He had regular black history lessons so that he could grow up knowing the great achievements of a diverse range of historical figures providing him with a positive experience of history lessons.

During black history month my son came home from primary school one day with a request from the teacher for me to provide some black history books and resources so that she could provide a black history event for his class.

I was later informed by his teacher that this request was made because she had planned a lesson on Mary Seacole. At the start of it she asked the pupils to put their hand up if they knew anything about Mary Seacole. My son’s hand shot up and when he finished telling all he knew there was nothing more she could teach the class because he knew more than she did.

As a school governor I worked with the head of history to ensure that black history was taught, shared my knowledge, books and resources and as a spoken word performer delivered  workshops at the school to teach children black history and promote multiculturalism.

Mary Seacole and Olaudah Equiano were not just put on the curriculum – they are taught in schools today as a result of tireless campaigning over many years enriching the educational experience of children of all races. We live in a multicultural society where the achievements of all who have contributed should be taught and celebrated. But according to Gove they are not traditional enough to be taught. What is tradition if not based on our multicultural history?

The Con-Dem coalition have already made clear their opposition to multiculturalism, they are proposing to reduce our protection against discrimination in law, have made severe cuts to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, their austerity measures have impacted disproportionately on black communities including on black history month activities and events so it is of no surprise that they would seek to write out our contributions in history. Black history is not just a month and our contribution to UK History should not be ignored or dismissed.

We all benefit from a true understanding of history and the better our understanding the more likely we are to learn from the past. The experience of our children at school will be enriched from the knowledge we gain of shared histories and we can promote equality and multiculturalism by understanding the great contributions of historical figures such as Mary Seacole and Olaudah Equiano in the face of adversity and prejudice.

I am proud to be part of the campaign opposing these proposals and urge you all to sign the campaign petition by OBV and to share this widely with your networks.

You can access the petition here: MICHAEL GOVE, SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EDUCATION - KEEP MARY SEACOLE ON THE NATIONAL CURRICULUM

Zita Holbourne

National Co-chair BARAC UK, Spoken Word Artist