I’ve always wondered about this photograph…

[LadyPenelopeForever]

…his expression is open to many interpretations.

He did, but he managed to deal with his distaste.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/apr/02/word-empire-made-accepting-obe-difficult-says-david-olusoga

Who me? There? Why not in the front row? Late?

He has a Nigerian father and white British mother. I wonder if he's ever looked into his own ancestry for slave ownership or benefits from the slave trade/British Empire, both through the trade carried out by the Empire, the Empire riches that reached the pockets of most white Britons and the slave trade carried out by black Nigerians?

As an historian, you'd think he'd be very aware of the imperial past of many nations, not just GB.

IsoldeWagner · Yesterday 22:27
As an historian, you'd think he'd be very aware of the imperial past of many nations, not just GB.

Quite. I loathe slavery as much as anyone but you'd think it was only the British who ever had an empire to hear some people! All kinds of countries and races have indulged in slavery over the millennia. We happen to know a lot about the British empire, but that shouldn't obscure the fact that imperialism and slavery happened across the world throughout history.

Belgium(much as I love that country - no offence intended) did appalling things in the Congo. All the major European powers had empires in the 19th and we know that nearly every society in ancient history depended on slaves. We humans are really not very nice, are we?

Quite @IsoldeWagner and @CoffeeCantata. it’s interesting how the European nations that presided over brutal colonial regimes, and the Arab people who continued selling slaves to the Americas as well as domestically long after the British abolished slavery, get a free pass in the present day discussion.

For me it goes hand in hand with branding the UK an island of racists, particularly post Brexit (which I was against), whilst lamenting over the loss of ties with a Europe that has a much more powerful presence of properly scary far right political figures.

BlueParrotRedParrot · Today 10:53

Definitely!

People who think the UK is racist should have a look across the Channel. Some European countries are at real risk of electing people much, much more sinister than Nigel Farage.

And - to be clear, I'm not being complacent - I detest racism wherever it's found. But to suggest that the UK is notorious for it is completely ridiculous.