The heritage sector's attack on our history – Issue XXII
Make it stand out
When the National Trust is blacklisting its own properties due to links to colonialism, something is rotten in the leadership of the heritage sector.
This is an excerpt of an article that features in our 22nd print issue.
As someone who wants to work within the heritage sector, it shocks me that many people I've come across (especially in archaeology) are what certain commentators would term 'statue topplers'. We've all seen the headlines; National Trust and, to a lesser extent, Heritage England have been waging a cultural war under the guise of 'retain and explain'. Their defence seems to be that they are exposing untold stories and are trying to tell both sides of history, but there is no truth behind such a defence. In reality, figures responsible for our historical estates and museums have realised the power they have. They control the way the public views Britain's past and want to inject their politics.
When the National Trust is blacklisting its own properties and collections due to links to colonialism, something is rotten in the leadership of the heritage sector. Examples are numerous, such as the influential author Enid Blyton being labelled as racist, xenophobic, and as having a “lack of literary merit” within her works, and Rudyard Kipling being shamed for “imperialist sentiments".
What shocks me the most is that these are the exact people who should realise that history cannot be rewritten; that the moral standards of the past were different to those of today.
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