BLACK Lives Matter demonstrations may have slowed down, but the conversation around Britain’s colonial history is still raging.
This was highlighted aptly by David Starkey’s meltdown on a conservative podcast, where he claimed slavery was not a genocide due to the number of black people that survived.
Mr Starkey’s views were well known to many, but it is only now that he has been terminated from his roles at CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY and Canterbury Christ Church University.
Perhaps the higher education system isn’t as liberal as many on the right call it out to be.
When you have a Prime Minister that claims he will not take the knee as it is a “gesture” – and a LOTO in Sir Keir Starmer that calls the movement a “moment” – perhaps it isn’t surprising.
How do we change societal attitudes towards our past, then?
Is it done by, as our writer Matt Trinder suggested, done through educational history a la Kenya?
Or how about correcting the record on figures some in the political establishment see as a hero, such as Thomas Cromwell?
Contributing editor Tim McNulty explained how, in a time of steady Anglo-Irish relations, monuments to Cromwell must be reckoned with.
Museums may begin to open in Britain this weekend, but what contents inside some of the country’s most famous institutions were actually stolen?
The Elgin Marbles, for one, James Moules insisted – should they be returned to Greece? Read his editorial comment piece and decide yourself.
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Or, why not celebrate working-class history instead of imperialism? The anniversary of the Tolpuddle Martyrs will still be commemorated, Mr Moules reported.
Elsewhere, the virus has represented a global opportunity to unite, rather than start proxy conflicts and general skirmishes.
And so rests the question of arms sales – do we, as CAAT told this publication, dump them and risk becoming a global leader in green energy?
The first step, perhaps, would be to make sure parliament can properly scrutinise British arms exports so they don’t fall into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, as Declan Carey reports, this has not been possible.
What about a more positive message? Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told a Brazil Solidarity Initiative Webinar this week that strangely, we could come out of the lockdown as an environmentally-focused and cohesive global society. Well, he’s always believed in the best of human nature, so you can’t blame him.
Looking forward?
As he looks more and more likely to win, Joe Biden is under pressure to pick a Vice-President who, in political science terms, will unite the party but do no damage. Good luck with that.
A decision may be announced in the coming week – and all signs point to Kamala Harris or Susan Rice.
Elsewhere, the second round of the Polish Elections are coming up next Sunday – look out for our exclusive analysis in the following days to that.
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