Is our school curriculum too Eurocentric?

The recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II has had a profound effect on our country. Whether you’re a staunch Royalist or don’t believe in the need for a monarchy, Queen Elizabeth has been Britain’s figurehead for over 70 years.

As these arguments have flitted around the Twittersphere, newsrooms, and through the general public, it’s caused several other fascinating arguments to come out of the woodwork.?

And interestingly, two particular topics have become even more relevant with it being Black History Month.

The first is Britain’s creation of the Commonwealth and its role in bringing "civilization" to African nations, and the other is the heavily Eurocentric curriculum that children are faced with from school age through to the college level.

Despite having centuries of world history at our fingertips, Britain's curriculum is still focused on the grisly World Wars, Hitler's rise to power, and the country’s pivotal role in the industrial revolution.

These are undeniably important topics, but where are the discussions about the powerful Mali Empire? Can we understand modern society and racial bias if we don't look at the incredible level of civilization displayed by the Yoruba people?

It’s a strong stance to take, but I’ve always thought that a well-rounded cultural and historical education is incredibly important.

Not only does it help students to understand that Black history is heavily layered and amounts to more than just the slave trade, but it may help to reduce unconscious bias that Black individuals often face throughout their lives.

So, did Britain bring "civilization" to Africa? Is the current curriculum varied enough to give children a decent glimpse into other cultures, races, and religions?

Is Britain Responsible for Bringing "Civilization" to Africa?

This question was first posed to me when I was much younger.

When I was speaking to a friend at school, he casually stated that Great Britain was responsible for bringing "civilization" to Africa.

As a child, I didn’t have the wherewithal or knowledge to rebut this. But now? Well, I certainly have a couple of thoughts.

I won’t go on a tirade about this, but it’s worth mentioning that much of Britain’s involvement with the continent was based around the Scramble for Africa. In other words, Britain (and other western countries) was seeking territory and aimed to control large swathes of the region for economic, political and territorial gain.

Although colonization did bring some development such as railways, it also lost an incredible number of cultural and natural resources in the process.

A similar thing can be said for King Leopold’s original goal with the continent back in the 1880s. Though he wanted to bring "civilization" to the region, his reign in Africa is better known for forced labour, malnutrition, violence, and the exploitation of resources.

This benefitted the Belgians and other western countries tenfold. But did it bring civilization and prosperity to the African people??

No.

Forgotten History

Part of what makes this distorted version of history so frustrating is the fact that it erases several important civilizations that came centuries before the Scramble for Africa.

For example, the Kingdom of Benin was an incredibly established empire in what is now southwestern Nigeria. It dates back to the 900s and is known for its remarkable bas-relief sculptures that were made using the lost wax technique that puzzled western historians for years. Considering this technique is still used to create artwork today, undoubtedly, civilization and culture existed in Africa long before the European and other nations invaded.

If that wasn’t enough to convince you, a trip to West Africa might teach us a thing or two.?

This part of the continent was home to the Mali Empire which existed between 1235 and 1670. Although this empire boasts a wealth of amazing history, King Mansa Musa is an excellent example of civilization in Africa. Said to be worth approximately $400 billion in modern currency, he’d be twice as rich as Jeff Bezos (before his divorce!).

Moreover, the King of Mali donated so much gold to the poor during his famous pilgrimage to Mecca that it devalued the price of Gold in the region, impacting the economy for the subsequent 12 years!

Now how’s that for civilised?

Problems With the British Curriculum

But we have to ask ourselves – why don’t we know more about these incredible periods of world history?

Part of the problem lies with the British school curriculum.?

When the British Government attempted to inject more black history into the curriculum in 2014, the idea was largely rejected by teachers and academics. As a result, learning about Black history became entirely optional and has faded into the background for most British schools.

This doesn’t mean that schools can’t put it in the curriculum. But as only up to 11% of GCSE students are studying modules that make any reference whatsoever to the contributions of Black people to British history and 48% are learning about Weimar Germany, we don’t seem to be making much meaningful progress.

Until recently, no modules in the GCSE syllabus for the most popular exam board, Edexcel, mentioned black people in Britain.

Why Learning About Black History Important for Realising Our Sense of Self

It might seem extreme, but “whitewashing” history has a greater impact on Black Britons than you might think.

Not only does being exposed to Black history form the way we think about different races as adults, but it can influence how Black Britons view themselves and their value in the world.

Although White Britons are surrounded by positive representations of themselves in culture and history, Black Britons simply do not have the same self-affirming heritage.

By whitewashing our history and limiting it to colonialism, slavery, and white saviours, we diminish the contributions of Black and non-White figures throughout history.

How powerful would British children feel if they were also exposed to Black figures that helped to shape our country? To characters who changed the world for the better? To folks who made incredible contributions on the human race?

We’ll have to wait and find out.?But I only hope that change comes sooner rather than later.