A mural in an Edinburgh primary school that features a golliwog may be removed amid renewed criticism following the worldwide Black Lives Matter protests.
City of Edinburgh Council decided in 2013 not to remove the mural, but may now reverse its stance.
The mural, painted in 1936 in Wardie Primary School, depicts various scenes from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The original novel, by Lewis Carroll, does not feature a golliwog.
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In comments reported in an article in The Guardian, Professor Rowena Arshad, co-director of the Centre for Education for Racial Equality in Scotland, said: “If we want to talk about the golliwog in history, it belongs in the Museum of Childhood [in central Edinburgh], anti-racist teaching packs and television programmes, not a primary school.
In a joint statement, City of Edinburgh Council education convener Ian Perry and vice-convener Alison Dickie said: “There is no place for prejudice, discrimination, intolerance and hate in Edinburgh and we are committed to addressing racism and structural inequality in all its forms.
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“Edinburgh has historical features, including the Wardie Primary School mural, which hide or reveal the city’s involvement in the slave trade and other racist practices and attitudes. In 2013, the school community was involved in a consultation about the mural. At the time, the outcome was to keep the mural as a reminder that people once thought differently from the way we do today. In the context of the Black Lives Matter movement, we will be reviewing this decision, listening to black and ethnic minority voices.
“We will work with the school community, young people, parents and staff - to critically examine the historical evidence around us, ensuring that black history and its role in our city are a core part of an inclusive curriculum. In this way, we will understand the wrongs of the past and dismantle their harmful and persistent legacy in present-day racism and structural inequalities.”
One academic, in a tweet about the mural, wrote: “I just saw someone argue against removing a golliwog from a 1936 mural in an Edinburgh primary school by suggesting ‘it could be left there as an honest depiction of the era it clearly portrays’. It’s a fantasy scene from Alice in Wonderland not a photo of 1930s’ Edinburgh!”
