Following the appalling death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis, USA; there has been a global outcry for greater acknowledgement of the systematic racism that is engrained in the history of many countries (not least the UK). The message communicated by the Black Lives Matter campaigns, that racism still exists and needs to be eradicated, cannot be ignored.
An uncomfortable truth about Britain’s past is that many of our cities were built on the profits of the slavery. In fact, Edinburgh’s New Town was funded by the city’s slave trade. This is a part of history that is often swept under the carpet. Historians have argued that Scotland’s relationship with transatlantic slavery is encased in a ‘collective amnesia’, with a lack of awareness of the UK’s colonial history being a widespread issue. However, following the campaigns this summer, we cannot return to a place of ignorant bliss, where we forget about the parts of history that we are not proud of.
This begs the question: how do we respond? Well, if you are the University of Edinburgh, you rename a building that was formerly named after a Scottish Enlightenment philosopher who had involvement in the slave trade. However, while this may be an effective way of removing traces of racism, what good does this do when also leading us to forget the past? As Sir Geoff Palmer, Scotland’s first black professor, stated: “if you remove the evidence you remove the deed”.
Instead, we must allow ourselves to be reminded of the past; using buildings, streets and statues as symbols to educate future generations about the problems of racism. I believe that it would be more productive to create a museum, similar to the Canadian Museum of Human Rights (CMHR), which was created in order to explore issues like Canada’s involvement in slavery.
The CMHR enhances the public's understanding of human rights, promotes respect for others, and encourages reflection and dialogue – all of which are equally important and relevant here in Scotland. This model could be used to articulate and examine Scotland’s role in the slave trade, as well as to explore the diversity of human rights in relation to the holocaust, the suffragette movement, employee rights or the plight of the Uighurs in China. Moreover, suggestions of plaques on statues and buildings to explain the connection to the slave trade, as well as greater education is schools, would be beneficial.
The past should not be forgotten; changes need to be made. However, renaming buildings is counterproductive in the strive for equity.