History suggests that the disillusioned and the disaffected do not readily take to the streets nor man the barricades to defend a system that failed to defend them.
David OlusogaRead
Black history is a series of missing chapters from British history. I'm trying to put those bits back in.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the need to acknowledge and include the contributions of Black history in the broader narrative of British history.
David Olusoga highlights the gaps in the commonly told history of Britain, suggesting that essential parts of Black history are often overlooked or omitted. By aiming to 'put those bits back in,' he advocates for a more inclusive historical perspective that recognizes the significant role that Black individuals and communities have played in shaping British society.
Themes
Black HistoryBritish HistoryInclusionNarrativeIdentity
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the significance of Black History Month, this quote can be used to emphasize the importance of inclusivity in history education.
More from David Olusoga
All quotes βNo matter that you're a British citizen, no matter that you were born here - your skin colour means you do not have the same rights as others to express critical opinions about your own country.
David OlusogaRead
Public buildings, built from the rates and taxes paid by past generations, are being auctioned off by impoverished councils who need the money to pay the redundancies of workers they can no longer afford to employ. Many of these grand Victorian buildings will be turned into flats that most people will never be able to afford.
David OlusogaRead
We nonchalantly expect that next year's smartphone will be faster and better than this year's, yet we struggle to imagine that society and our lives could progress at anything like the pace at which technology advances and we meekly accept it when things go backwards.
David OlusogaRead
Our national history cannot be national if, in the near future, one in three young adults feels their stories remain untold, if this country's long global history of empire and interconnections is marginalised and if the historical reality of race is rendered almost invisible.
David OlusogaRead
Racism is a belief system. It was assembled over centuries from many component parts - bits of biblical scripture, the propaganda of the slave-owning lobby and the pseudo-science of academics working in universities in Europe and America.
David OlusogaRead
Similar quotes
The acceptance of the facts of African-American history and the African-American historian as a legitimate part of the academic community did not come easily. Slavery ended and left its false images of black people intact.
John Henrik ClarkeRead
History is not a procession of illustrious people. It's about what happens to a people. Millions of anonymous people is what history is about.
James A. BaldwinRead
I think what we should do as historians is understand. And we can have our own views about how things turned out, but I think, in making judgements, we're getting into tricky territory.
Margaret MacmillanRead
From the very beginning, history wasn't content simply to be nostalgic fairytales; it wanted to make you think.
Simon SchamaRead
Blacks have experienced a history of victimization in America, beginning obviously in slavery and then another 100 years of segregation. I grew up in segregation. I know very well what it was about and all of the difficulties it placed on black life, and how we were truly held down before the civil-rights movement.
Shelby SteeleRead
History consists of a corpus ascertained facts. The facts are available to the historian in documents, inscriptions and so on, like fish in the fishmonger's slab. The historian collects them, takes them home, and cooks and serves them in whatever style appeals to him.
Edward Hallett CarrRead