Id agree that attitudes in the UK are approaching that situation, but theres still a long, long way to go yet. Prof Darity and Ms Mullen outline that to eliminate the existing Black-White wealth gap an allocation of between $10 trillion and $12 trillion, or about $800,000 per black household, should be paid. Black history: Should it be part of the wider curriculum? Eventually, 11,000 separate British slave-trading expeditions resulted in the trafficking of three-and-a-half-million Africans to the New World plantations, the greatest forced migration in modern history until the 20th century. I am happy with Olusogo paying reparations to himself. "They do not want British history to be a catalogue of heroes and victories and glorious chapters," he says. As Black British History Month draws to a close, TV historian Prof David Olusoga looks at the impact it's had - and how young people are taking it on. I havent the faintest idea whether slavery in the Roman controlled areas of Britain was more along the continental Roman model or retained Celtic characteristics. And I dont think this is what reparations campaigners are calling for either, as I understand it their argument includes systematic legacy issues not just the period of slavery itself, so the harm relates more directly to them not just their ancestors. They are stupid false for America. It isnt happening now. 2023 BBC. You can be redeemed, you worthless pasty people. "I have," he admits, "a habit of . Cotton was a completely different slave economy. TV historian David Olusoga claims it is "palpable nonsense" to say that removing controversial statues "somehow impoverishes history". So he calls himself a Geordie. Which of those societies does Olusogas ancestry come from? My great grandfather fought to end slavery in a war. It can be withdrawn. Theres an argument about judging people by the standard of their times, though even in the 1500s moral and religious objections to the slave trade had been made and the rationale of crimes against humanity is that some things are so abhorrent they could never truly be legal no matter what moral code the perpetrators justified themselves with. Two men managed to escape and were rescued, but not before my great, great, grandfather was beaten, starved and worked to death, his body thrown into the jungle for the animals and insects to dispose of. Moreover its arguably unjust that only victims of still-extant states have a route to compensation whereas people from ethnic groups roughly contemporaneously massacred, enslaved and sacrificed by the Aztec Empire have nobody to sue. One in which enslaved people suffered and even died from malnutrition, as the economics of the slave trade meant that it was cheaper, at times, to starve people and then replace them than it was to provide them with food. It was far too real to her. "The way history is viewed is changing. If you want to pay more tax, just write a cheque to HMRC and send it off. Joining them is Psychologist and Lecturer at Lancaster University, Dr David Tod, for a fascinating conversation about the psychology of acting. They did not care much for adult males. And the fact youre moved to tears by discovering for the first time a great-great-great-grandmother of yours was a prostitute single-mum with seven kids or a great-x5-uncle you had never heard of was imprisoned for murder, well, your utter lack of knowledge simply reveals how little youve been influenced by them, so youre hardly discovering a new facet of yourself at all. In America few were castrated, which is why there are now >40 million descendants there. Very often shaped by the political, technological and economic forces of the times if the Western way of life had remained utterly dependent on Roman-style slavery, Im not sure wed ever have abolished it even amongst our own inhabitants. (Im just presenting the case here in reality there are obviously some big questions about the logic of Nuremberg etc, just as there are questions about how judges in Common Law occasionally summon up things as if they had always and forever been a part of the Law, albeit previously unrecorded, rather than something the judge just made up.). From Roots. Thats before you get on to the Khoisan and the Zulus, the Carthaginians and Romans, the Vikings versus pretty much anyone else who lived within raiding distance, Theres a fundamental weakness with all theories of universal law or justice, which is that across time and space, the human conception of what is right and just seems to be extremely varied and rarely (to modern Western eyes) pleasant. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. People seem pretty much agreed on what is right and what is wrong. This year, return to Neverland. Olusogas stated purpose is to argue that black British history is not about migration and settlement, whether of black servants in the 18th century or black workers in the Windrush era. But as someone who is damaged by slavery I have lived in racially mixed communities and I am happy to see Obama and Kamala pay up. That assumes an increase in demand. Some other buyer would have taken them if they werent shipped out, and Western (or Arab) traders were just changing the ownership and location, the sins of the slave-raiders being theirs alone to bear. Instead he has become a campaigner working to discredit Britain, the country that has educated him, promoted him and brought him fame and acceptance. people like Olusoga would have to pay their share of the greatly increased taxes His black half can get the half-payment direct from his white half. Peter Olusoga. I dont think the traders can be given a pass on this front either., Just means they werent alone in being in the wrong.. Dont know if I would rule it out entirely because the demographics are different but it might need a change in the voting dynamics. As for the future, the University of Manchester professor says younger generations give him hope. His exposure to Nigerian culture seems quite limited. In the late 1800's and early 1900's, 30,000 Jewish migrants from Russia and Eastern Europe settled in Manchester. Societies have had a long history of treating minorities harshly. "So when black history was missing - the history of empire, the history of slavery - was missing from my history lessons, I didn't have a place to go to discover those missing chapters. I have that estimate saved and ready to be critiqued as part of a larger project. "The small minority whose history had been airbrushed out of the national story recovered that history with the help of their allies and then broadcast it, spread it into our national conversation and they did that within the space of half a century. They have a game plan & youre falling for it. White communities suffer huge losses from Black crime. It does not take people long to starve to death and slaves were paid for. Pretty much everybody in the West is against slavery. His book is a product of that childhood terror, and partly an exploration of his condition as a black Briton. Will Britain change? Wider imperialism reparations that include South Asia, China for the Opium Wars and so on, surely even more prohibitively costly, regardless of how effective the education system gets at making young Brits feel a vague sense of guilt about it all. Country Star Kacey Musgraves: Voting for Trump Is an Act of Violence. The New Statesmans weekly environment email on the politics, business and culture of the climate and nature crises - in your inbox every Thursday. Why are these characterizations needed? Not good. Tim says there might be some truth to them for the Caribbean. Would probably have taken your suggestion as a challenge. I am of Ulster Scot heritage, who were originally John Knoxs Cumberland Presbyterians, VERY MUCH against slavery. They may not be happy about Dresden or Hiroshima but their lives are much better. I think a case could be made. Read about our approach to external linking. It's against this backdrop that Black British History Month was created. Exactly, bis. Kyle Rittenhouse, unlike the rest of their sorry asses, did something. It seems absurd to me that anyone should be concerned about what happened 200 or 500 years ago. It is a form of self-loathing. If their ancestors had remained in Africa would they be better off than they are now? Your email address will not be published. Shouldnt matter whether some long-dead relative fought long ago for or against (not at all to disparage your ancestors GC, who all sound very sound) in terms of whether somethings your fault. The novel became the bestselling book of 19th-century Britain; it was adapted for the theatre and generated mass-produced merchandise playing cards, jigsaws, tableware. Sure. There is no reason to think one system was more or less brutal than the other. Black and British: A Forgotten History addresses one of the greatest silences in British historiography. Good point, I wonder how he squares the obviously comfortable living he has writing, opining and broadcasting about slavery with his principles. How would Nigeria treat a foreigner like him? The evidence of this is that seasoned slaves, those exposed to the environment, sold for up to 50% more than new ones. Fired by religious feeling, they embarked on a campaign of public education and political lobbying unprecedented in scale and revolutionary in nature. Prof David Olusoga has presented numerous documentaries including A House Through Time and Black and Black and British: A Forgotten History, Olaudah Equiano played a role in Britain's abolishment of slavery, Performer Giles Terera has written a play featuring Equiano, Prof Olusoga said when it was published, people did not believe the book was by an African as it was deemed so well written, Bernardine Evaristo (second left) has launched a series called Black Britain: Writing Back which features novels by black British authors that have been overlooked, Should black history be taught all year round? We do not know enough to be sure. I do not see what is different between a plantation in Africa and a plantation in Virginia. The reason why Equiano is not a national name is because slavery is not a part of the history that we teach when it should be because I don't think you can understand the 18th century in particular but also the 19th century without reference to slavery.". Though I dont know where wed get $12 trillion in Confederate currency. He is the author of the 2016 book Black and British: A Forgotten History, which was awarded both the Longman-History Today Trustees Award 2017 and the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize 2017. The stars are out as Dr Pete Olusoga explores the psychology of stage and screen with the wonderful British actor (and Coronation Street veteran), Shobna Gulati. The book accompanying. Required fields are marked *. Nor do I think that sugar is worse than cotton. But those were in those long-lost days when democrats and republicans could talk to each other and agree to disagree while both leaving the conversation a little the wiser.. Get back to us when your sin/privilege is expunged. That is not true. What has he got to say about that? Pretty much everybody in the West is against slavery. You lost those two. You should know better. at scales that were unusual in the long and varied history of slavery, and levels of brutality that stood out too. That someone did something 200 years ago means double ought nothing. It was an apt university to experiment with such developments, since Lord Scarman, who reported on the Brixton riots of 1981, was its chancellor. I assume he is not very bright and Race Hustling is very lucrative. It is a good deed that must not go unpunished. H istorian and broadcaster David Olusoga has been the face of a decolonial turn in British broadcasting that, in recent years, with series including the Bafta-winning Britain's Forgotten Slave. That star stuff wont last. If there were African states with legal continuity to those political entities which established and encouraged the African slave markets, they would be on the hook too, but theres a discontinuity due to colonialism and besides, everyone knows to sue the rich guy not the poor guy. "This is a richer history as well as a necessary history; this is a more vivid history as well as a history that tells the back stories of more people in this country than the traditional narratives we've had.". One of his teachers had a coffee mug bearing a National Front slogan and another attacked him during a school trip, he said. In the end, wholl be proven right about the matter practically, in terms of what the outcome is and what the first drafts of history say? Young people - such as Lavinya Stennett who founded the Black Curriculum campaign group - have been calling for change. I had a girlfriend whose mother was a Nazi. Tim may be wrong about stuff, but ..that, ultimately, makes up for his beating squirrels to death for a hobby, Tim Worstall a horrid man who is anti-minimum wage among other repugnant things Socialist News. Forbes magazine's extraordinarily arrogant contributor Tim Worstall Jeremy Corbyn. They deliberately bought skewed mostly male gender balance. Or they may discover how little black lives do matter. The Russians do not have these problems because they are not ashamed. It began to alter (slightly) the history curriculum at university level: the first undergraduate one-year course on black British history and culture was taught at the University of Warwick in 1984. But maybe they did not. There is plenty of slavery about we just do not call it that. So this race baiter can try his guilt trip on someone else. But Muslims were enslaving white Europeans into Africa long before the Atlantic route, usually castrating the males. David Olusoga meets Janice Haber and her family, the descendents of Jewish . Ive always agreed that the Africans should pay reparations to the rest of us for dumping all those people they wanted to get rid of on us. So my advice would be, for his own health, STFU. The world has seen more slavery since its abolition than before. it was cheaper, at times, to starve people and then replace them This is because forgetting slavery means forgetting its victims. David Olusoga, 49, is a television presenter and historian. Or anything to do with slavery. The best and brightest minds in the UK defended Stalins slavery. Rather the constitution banned the slave trade and so it become economically worth it to make sure slaves lived longer. Their demands should simply be refused. "This generation has the greatest knowledge-giving tool ever created and they have access to knowledge that I just did not have when I was younger. But Ill tell you what, slavery and human sacrifice, still awful. It is a political campaign, not a contribution to academic history. BBC Radio 3 - Drama on 3, The Meaning of Zong, Spacious open-plan family home in Muswell Hill, Five Cineworlds across south London still at risk of permanent closure, Residents who have 'suffered for years' to be asked if they want blocks knocked down, Dazzling Thamesmead light festival returns with performances, films and flash mob, Charlton murderer claims prison guards broke his arm and sues for 20k, Children and young people with eating disorders face treatment postcode lottery, Angry protests erupt over Greek rail disaster, How fake copyright complaints are muzzling journalists, 1894 shipwreck confirms tale of treacherous lifeboat. The arguments do you want to get shaken down for several trillion? Cest de la trs bonne dialectique conomique. Dr Peter Olusoga is a senior psychology lecturer at Sheffield Hallam university. Video, 1894 shipwreck confirms tale of treacherous lifeboat, BBC Radio 3 - Drama on 3: The Meaning of Zong, BBC Bitesize: The Zong 1781-1783 - The triangular trade, during a debate on Black History and Cultural Diversity in the Curriculum, Harry and Meghan told to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, Explosive found in check-in luggage at US airport, Fungus case forces Jack Daniels to halt construction, Rare Jurassic-era bug found at Arkansas Walmart, China and Belarus call for peace in Ukraine, Fire knocks out half of Argentina's power grid, Havana Syndrome unlikely to have hostile cause - US, Starbucks illegally fired workers over union - judge. Slaves were crowded in a new environment with new diseases. White people are unique in ending slavery across the world*. Theres a flaw in arguments of the form frankly you should be glad I murdered your sister, since had I not done so, its quite possible though we cannot be sure that someone else would have tortured her then murdered her, which is even worse, so whos the real criminal? Which is that I still murdered your sister. The exception is Tim Worstall, who is truly the Ron Jeremy of blogging. True that unlike certain other examples of slavery, you werent likely to be killed as part of a religious sacrifice or as part of your owners funeral. Everyone was. Grew up in Quedlinburg. After all, adult males were all but worthless and demand for women might have been enough to drive the trade anyway. And this of course neatly addresses MBEs arguments. I hadnt gotten far when she stopped me cold, pointing out that her best friend, a 15 year old girl knitting beside a window in her house, was machine gunned by an American P-51 pilot. Olusoga unloads all sorts of characterizations. One issue about Westerners buying slaves via a chain of commerce that often ultimately involved Africans selling other Africans at traditional slave-trading locations (there was some slave-raiding by Europeans directly, but rarer) is that the extra demand distorted the market, led directly to more armed slave-raiding expeditions against rival tribes and so on. The race obsessed Department of Education goes to considerable lengths to distinguish Caribbeans and West Africans. The strongest argument I can see for reparations is not that white people bear some kind of ancestral blame. Olusogas ancestors will have participated in the capture of sale of slaves in Nigeria. All in all your typical West African is far more likely to have ancestral connections to the slave trade than your typical Brit. Societies have what morals suit them. It wasnt always so & it may not be in the future. Full text must be online somewhere but theres an extract at https://www.history.co.uk/shows/the-real-vikings/articles/eyewitness-to-the-vikings. So how much have considered paedophilia? Nevertheless, we live in a society that generally regards slavery as an absolute and eternal wrong, and a grave one at that, yet which has historically (at least certain people and places, and including the state itself) benefited from imposing slavery on others.. That hes able to write this article is because hes living in what is, by historical standards, a remarkably tolerant society. MBE, do not entertain these people, not for one second. June 16, 2020 - 20:29 BST Aisha Nozari. If we went down this route thered be goodness knows how much fun and games to be had with legal claims over the treatment of Irish by Cromwell, the clearing of the Highlands and so on, before you even get on to the globe-spanning imperial stuff. Its a replay of the ecology nutters & the trannies. 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