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.
Most people involved in the delivery of history, in universities, publishing, museums and the heritage industry, are aware that we have a problem with diversity and inclusivity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the lack of diversity and inclusivity in institutions that represent history.
David Olusoga's quote emphasizes a significant issue within the fields of education, publishing, and heritage, where the representation of diverse perspectives in the narrative of history is often lacking. This awareness among professionals signals the need for increased efforts to address and remedy these gaps to ensure a more inclusive understanding of history that reflects the experiences and contributions of all groups.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a university lecture about historical representation, a professor could use this quote to initiate a discussion on the importance of inclusivity.
More from David Olusoga
All quotes →No 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.
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.
Black history is a series of missing chapters from British history. I'm trying to put those bits back in.
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.
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.
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Too rarely is the individual teacher so free from the dictation of authoritative supervisor, textbook on methods, prescribed course of study, etc., that he can let his mind come to close quarters with the pupil's mind and the subject matter.
We cannot educate white women and take them by the hand. Most of us are willing to help but we can't do the white woman's homework for her. That's an energy drain. More times than she cares to remember, Nellie Wong, Asian American feminist writer, has been called by white women wanting a list of Asian American women who can give readings or workshops. We are in danger of being reduced to purveyors of resource lists.
When you wage war on the public schools, you're attacking the mortar that holds the community together. You're not a conservative, you're a vandal.
There's so much talk of representation in politics and entertainment - it's everywhere - but I didn't realize representation was important until really my senior year of high school.
For her, reading was directly linked to pleasure, not to knowledge or enigmas or constructions or verbal labyrinths.
All learning begins when our comfortable ideas turn out to be inadequate.