Should we rewrite the history books?
The Black Lives Matter protests that highlighted institutional and systemic racism following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis has enkindled a new era of awareness. George Floyd was murdered brutally by a white policeman after he was searched and found to be in possession of, the punishment that followed was sickening. George Floyd was knelt on for 8 minutes 46 seconds, until he stopped breathing and tragically died. Despite having a criminal record, this brutality is not acceptable. We all witnessed a brutal, merciless, and horrifying murder. In many ways, it brought the spotlight on racial inequality against people from a BAME background. On social media, people were posting images of black squares for Black Out Tuesday to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Many take the knee and, despite the Coronavirus pandemic, protesting globally for change. President Trump condemned the event and acted very inappropriately in the aftermath of the murder when he said that new there was a lot of new jobs available. He said in a speech that the numbers marked a "great day" for George Floyd, "Hopefully, George is looking down right now and saying, 'This is a great thing that's happening for our country.' Trump’s campaign slogan is Make America Great Again, does this include everyone? Trump is openly racist - hates Muslims as believes they are all terrorists, assumes that all Mexicans are involved in drug trafficking.
““Black lives have always mattered. We have always been important. We have always meant something. We have always succeeded regardless. And now is the time. I ain’t waiting””
Britain is no exception PM Boris Johnson didn't speak to Mr. Trump even though he has a big influence over him, he also called the event a 'spectacle' his word choice conveys that it was like a firework display or a festival, a celebration - no this was murder! Dominic Rabb said that he thought that taking the knee in remembrance for George Floyd and to highlight police brutality globally was from the Game of Thrones!
In protest, some people have vandalized statues of historical figures who were involved in the slave trade. I believe that the statues were erected at a time when racism was just a social norm and there was an entrenched divide between the white and black people(some would say that this is still the case) due to prehistoric beliefs that black people are other and shouldn't be respected in the same way! I think that we shouldn't censor our history books, and we should be open about our darkest hours. When we erect statues they should mark someone's successes, but they should be weighed alongside their downfalls. If we all look at the scrolls of our lives so far and highlight our misdemeanours or when our moral compass was faulty, we would all have an extensive list - some more than others. The government should weigh people against their pros and cons, should negative actions out way the good, then they need to rethink about putting a statue up of that individual. If a group of people expresses a passion and desire to remove the statue from its plinth, then it should be done democratically and not by violence and an act of vandalism.
I was particularly interested in protestors' reasons for having the passion to knock down Sir Baden Powell's statute in Poole Quay. I am part of the Scout Association and have been for 9 years. I am a young leader and Explorer scout. The organization has played a huge role in my life and have made friends for life, learned things about myself, done things I ever thought I could, developed and gained confidence. Baden Powell founded the Scouts, and I and many others worldwide are indebted to him. He had associations with the Nazis and the Hitler youth programme, as well as his actions that were discovered on declassified MI5 files that Lord Baden-Powell was invited to meet Adolf Hitler after holding friendly talks about forging closer ties with the Hitler Youth. I am concerned that the protestors are now just tearing down history and not acknowledging the good that Baden Powell has done for billions of young people and adults.
Protestors a few weeks ago threw Edward Colston's statue into a river in Bristol. He was a slave trader in the 17th century. He was part of the group Royal African Company, and they transported 80,000 women, children, and men as slaves in horrific conditions from Africa to the Americas to build up the British Empire. 19,00 died in the ships. This left him extremely rich and when he died he donated lots of money to charitable causes in the UK, in Bristol he has lots of buildings dedicated to him. When his statue was erected in 1895 - his plaque read: “Erected by citizens of Bristol as a memorial of one of the most virtuous and wise sons of their city.” This statue is controversial because 'virtuous' means that you have a good moral compass, and is it moral to enslave a group of people because they are classed as 'other'?
We must take responsibility for rewriting the history books to celebrate people from all walks of life and shine the spotlight on all parts of their life, the great and the immoral. I think that statues should be erected and torn down democratically, not by violence. For me the most compelling evidence for change is recognizing that all people matter and this is a moment in history that allows us to stand together and change together for a better world for our children and those who come after us.
