Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade

I agree. As I said earlier, I am an angry black woman because I was not taught my history in school. I hope that part of our legacy as a Labour Government will be that we have rectified that situation, so that when there are, as we hope, more black MPs they will be a little less angry. This is the time to ensure that Africans rise through the ranks and that black people are encouraged. I want young black people to believe that they can achieve; I want them to pick up books, not dangerous weapons. I want them to know that the debt we owe those who gave their tomorrow for our today runs deep. Maya Angelou wrote:"““I am the dream and the hope of the slave””." We have a huge gap to fill. We must look to emotional and spiritual reparation to repair minds. We must ensure that all our children know they can achieve great things, as my hon. Friend the Member for Hackney, North and Stoke Newington said. It is vital that we continue to strive to tackle modern-day discrimination and slavery in all its forms.