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Merseyside MP Raises Historic Racism As Black Babies Were Classed As Educationally Subnormal

The Swan Report's recommendations - 40 years ago this year - never carried out

"This year marks 40 years since the Swann report exposed systemic racism and discrimination in the education system. Regrettably, none of its recommendations was recommended. One of the most damning injustices in the report was the misclassification of mainly black children as educationally subnormal, as identified in Steve McQueen’s BBC documentary. Given the historic nature of this and the impact it had on so many, will the Prime Minister consider a public inquiry to provide justice and recompense for those who have been affected?" - Kim Johnson MP

Speaking at last week's PMQs (5th March 2025), Merseyside MP for the Riverside Constituency, Kim Johnsons raised as issue which has never been addressed.

Some 40 years ago, black babies were classified as educationally subnormal. A situation that was uncovered by the BBC and along with British film director, Steve McQueen; formed the subject matter of a documentary which shocked the nation.

The original Swan Report of 1985 introduction from the then Education Secretary, Keith Joseph in Thatcher's government, was totally ignored by ALL successive governments:

"This report is about a complex and important subject. The response of the education service to ethnic diversity concerns all who have responsibilities in education as well as all parents and their children.

The government is firmly committed to the principle that all children, irrespective of race, colour or ethnic origin, should have a good education which develops their abilities and aptitudes to the full and brings about a true sense of belonging to Britain. The Committee's report explores in detail how this principle may be made good, marshalling in the process a mass of evidence. At my request Lord Swann himself has written a brief guide which draws the reader's attention to the main issues in the report and to its central findings.

We can all be grateful to Lord Swann and his colleagues for their hard work over a long period of time. They have done a great service in drawing the issues affecting ethnic minority pupils to public attention."

These of cause were, and still remain, empty words.

The Committee's main conclusions and recommendations were set out in Part V. The following are some of the key points:

• this report is concerned primarily to change behaviour and attitudes;
• the fundamental change that is necessary is the recognition that the problem facing the education system is not how to educate children of ethnic minorities, but how to educate all children;
• Britain is a multiracial and multicultural society and all pupils must be enabled to understand what this means;
• education has to be something more than the reinforcement of the beliefs, values and identity which each child brings to school - it must combat racism and attack inherited myths and stereotypes;
• multicultural understanding must permeate all aspects of a school's work - it is not a separate topic that can be welded on to existing practices;
• we are in favour of a non denominational and undogmatic approach to religious education;
• we do not believe that a situation in which groups of children are taught exclusively by teachers of the same ethnic group is desirable from the point of view of the children, the minority community or society as a whole;
• the under-representation of ethnic minorities in the teaching profession is a matter of great concern;
• the most important potential source of ethnic minority teachers in the future is the ethnic minority pupils currently in school. Careers teachers and careers officers, with the strong support of DES and HMI, should encourage ethnic minority youngsters to consider the possibility of entering teaching.

You can download the document in the PDF format, but it is 829 pages long! Click the image above right.

Of particular interest to Merseyside MPs is a section entitled 'Liverpool Blacks' in which denial of any form of discrimination was claimed, with this statement:

'Local employers claimed there was no discrimination - it was simply that no blacks were employed ... Liverpool was a commuter city: all the workers in the city centre travelled in from outlying white areas. Only 5 black people were employed on the buses and there were virtually no blacks in the city centre stores ... The council was a particularly bad employer.'

Web editor, Chris Ingram recalls that in as far back as 1975, when he and the then Liverpool Clerical Branch secretary of the CPSA P&T Group raised the issue of the employment of Black people and equal opportunities within Liverpool GMO (part of Post Office Telephones); they were given this very same response - that Black people did not respond to job advertisements in the local press. Management made it clear they simply look at the applications for advertised jobs, irrespective of the ethnicity of the applicant. They refused to accept they should be encrouaging the Black community in Liverpool to apply for job vacancies with PO Telephones.

The Branch's experience was that only one person employed in the then Sales Dept, was a qualified female doctor employed as a Clerical Assistant and denied promotion because, allegedly, her English was not up to standard. That despite not a single person working with her had any criticism of either her written or spoken English.

This is jut one example of how it was for ethnic minorities in Liverpool at the time of, and prior to the Swann Report. Some say, not much has changed, certainly in terms of the numbers of black people employed in the city centre shops.

Speaking about his film, Small Axe, which premiered on BBC One in 2020, to Esquire UK's Paul Mendez; Steve McQueen said:

"All five stories that make up 'Small Axe' are “as relevant now as t hey were then. It’s only now that people are waking up to the fact that there’s been injustices against Black people for decades in this country, and centuries elsewhere. It took a pandemic. It took a brutal killing. It took millions marching. For people to think, ‘Possibly I should think in a different way.’ And only possibly, it’s not actually done yet.

Millions of people on the street before change can even be considered, before people can think that even possibly something could be wrong! The world is not a healthy place. If you really want change, if you are really serious about it then, hey, it starts from the beginning. Education.”

As it says in the film trailer, the five diffeserent stories in the film were based on true events - no doubt some of the events in Liverpool.

It reminds to be seen whether or not Kim Johnson MP, for Liverpool 8's Riverside constituency; will have her plea to Keir Starmer to right the wrongs of the past, will be headed and actioned.

Source: Education UK / Parliament TV / BBC Parliament Channel / BBC

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