Labour’s Corbyn: Teach Children Slavery and Britain’s ‘Grave Injustices’

Corbyn
OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty
Liam Deacon

Jeremy Corbyn has said if he were to lead Britain, schoolchildren would be extensively taught about so-called “grave injustices” he says Britain has caused around the world.

The hard left Labour leader wishes to blame Britain and its former empire for the slave trade in schools and teach children more about African history.

Making the announcement as part of Black History Month, Corbyn called for a new “emancipation educational trust” to promote the study of slavery and the “resilience and sacrifice of those enslaved and the struggle for liberation”.

He did not mention the Arab slave trade, which targeted black Africans long before Europeans, or the enslavement of Europeans by the Ottomans and North Africans.

Britain’s Royal Navy was tasked with stamping out the Atlantic slave-trade in the 19th century, a fact often forgotten by left-wing educators.

Announcing the plans in Bristol, Mr Corbyn said: “Black history is British history, and it should not be confined to a single month each year.

“It is vital that future generations understand the role that Black Britons have played in our country’s history and the struggle for racial equality.”

“In the light of the Windrush scandal, Black History month has taken on a renewed significance and it is more important now than ever that we learn and understand as a society the role and legacy of the British Empire, colonisation and slavery,” he continued.

“Black History month is a crucial chance to celebrate the immense contribution of Black Britons to this country, to reflect on our common history and ensure that such grave injustices can never happen again.”

Conservatives accused Mr Corbyn of being “ashamed” of his country. Nadhim Zahawi, an education minister, told The Daily Telegraph that in “countries that were part of the empire there is enormous goodwill towards our great country”.

Tim Loughton, a former Tory education minister, added: “It is incredible that Jeremy Corbyn aspires to be the leader of a country he is apparently so ashamed of.

“Once again he chooses to talk down Britain rather than celebrate the immense amount of good we have done.

“Undoubtedly bad things happened in the name of the British Empire and these should not be ignored but there is a much richer legacy that has shaped many countries around the world.”

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