Black History Month rejected

LABOUR GROUP ‘NOT SURPRISED’ AS TORIES SAY THEY WANT YEAR-LONG CELEBRATION

HILLINGDON Council has been accused of being “out of touch” as the ruling Conservatives voted down plans to bring back Black History Month in the borough.

In a ‘virtual’ full council meeting on Thursday, July 16, the opposition Labour group called for the month-long education initiative to be brought back after it was replaced by borough bosses in 2007 with a “local history and heritage month”.

Leader of the Labour group Peter Curling said he “would like to say I am surprised but I am not”, as all Conservatives at the meeting rejected the motion.

Four members of the public had also written to Hillingdon Council leader Ray Puddifoot calling for Black History Month to be re-introduced, with questions including “does the council not agree that black lives matter too?”

Bringing the motion, Cllr Curling said: “The Labour group have moved several motions in the council chamber requesting that Black History Month be restored to Hillingdon since it was discontinued in 2007, and we will continue to keep this request on the agenda so that black history is not forgotten.

“We live in the hope that maybe, just maybe, the administration will recognise the need for this less blinkered account of our history and heritage and the need for specific black history to be celebrated and commemorated.

“We should not allow the subject of black history to become some sort of modern culture war, but we should recognise with honesty the horrific nature of the history around the slave trade and how our colonial past treated black people.”

He added that forgetting black history has led to injustices such as the Windrush scandal.

“The Windrush generation spent their lives as our key workers and their history was forgotten, leading to many being detained as illegal immigrants and even deported.

“This is not in colonial times of the British empire, but 20 years into the 21st century,” he said.

Labour’s Cllr June Nelson also supported the bid, urging council chiefs to “fulfill the wishes” of the black community in the borough.

She also noted that the celebration, which local authorities including Hillingdon formally instituted in October 1987, would give “positive affirmation to children, and young people, identity and self worth”.

Meanwhile, Cllr Jazz Dhillon, also speaking in favour of the motion, said it would be “nothing short of a travesty for our children” if Black History Month was not re-introduced.

“I am saddened that in the past so many councillors in this day and age feel that it’s okay not to have a celebration of Black History Month in our calendar and I sincerely hope today that all our councillors, and especially those from the BAME community, and all those that suffered discrimination through ignorance, vote in favour of this motion,” he said.

Hillingdon’s culture and heritage boss Richard Lewis said the borough wanted to celebrate black, Asian and minority ethnic communities throughout the year and highlighted the council’s efforts to mark Windrush Day 2020 in June.

He also flagged that the council had installed a blue plaque to celebrate the leader of the campaign to abolish slavery, William Wilberforce, who lived in Uxbridge.

Cllr Lewis said: “Black History Month was celebrated in our libraries until 2007, but in 2008 the emphasis was changed and moved to celebrating the whole range of diverse community groups and cultures found throughout the borough.

“We believe that we shouldn’t merely educate our residents for a month every year about the fantastic contribution that our BAME communities have made, but that we should celebrate and educate throughout the year.

“To do this the library service has put out lots of social media around BAME authors, their books, a three-part feature on BAME people who have literally changed the world, as well as social media around racism and stereotype awareness.”

“We continue to promote adoption and fostering as well as further and higher education for all our diverse communities through Hillingdon People [magazine].”

The Labour group voted for the motion, while the Conservatives voted against. This means the bid was defeated.