Unsong heroines: Mary Seacole

Keep her in the books: Crimean War heroine

 The UK Secretary  State for  Education, Michael Gove, is one of the most controversial figures of the  Tory-LibDem coalition, and one that the Left loves to hate.Admittedly, education is a sensitive issue that is taken very seriously by people and indeed most governments.Tony Blair understood this very well when he made it a priority and coined what would become one of most quoted soundbites of his years as PM ('education, education, education').
Every so often, heated debates and exchanges on any intended reform or change in the National Curriculum grab the headlines;therefore, it is hardly surprising to see that a proposed change by the mentioned Secretary for Education has caused a new wave of indignation among many people who see this as pandering to the right-wing and their recurring PC myth mantra (Polical Correctness).
So  this new row is because of the proposed removal from the National Curriculum of  Mary Seacole; she was a black woman of Jamaican origin who was involved in the Crimean War, whose role helping the wounded soldiers gave her the status of heroine in Britain at the time. Thanks to a campaign organised some years ago for her inclusion as a relevant figure and a black role model, Mary Seacole became the only black person to be included in the Curriculum who was not associated with either the civil rights movement or slavery, thus giving students a different perspective on the role of people of diverse origins and backgrounds in Britain.
 In response to this proposal, another petition  has been organised, this time to ask the government to keep Seacole in the National Curriculum, on the basis of her role in the Crimean War.
Regardless of the outcome of this initiative, we take this opportunity to bring to this blog the figure of an inspirational  woman who defied the odds and helped change attitudes towards people from different backgrounds.Let's hope Gove's proposal stays that way:just a bad idea once proposed that ended up in the bin.