Troy Deeney calls for mandatory teaching of black, Asian and minority ethnic history

Birmingham City captain Troy Deeney has called for the teaching of black, Asian and minority ethnic history and experiences to be made mandatory across the school curriculum.

The striker - a prominent anti-racism campaigner - says the change is needed to inform, identify and combat discriminatory stereotypes from an early age.

Deeney has launched a petition and released an open letter to Nadhim Zahawi, the secretary of state for education, revealing the results of a YouGov survey he commissioned.

Deeney says it showed the majority of British teachers, who took part in the study, believe the school system has a racial bias, while only 12% feel empowered to teach diverse topics.

"I believe the current system is failing children from ethnic minorities," the 33-year-old told Zahawi in the open letter. "I urge you…to review this topic again."

A department for education spokesperson said the curriculum "offers pupils the opportunity to study significant figures from black and ethnic minority backgrounds and the contributions they have made to the nation".

Zahawi also responded, tweeting "Troy, thank you for raising this important issue. It would be good to discuss this with you and I will ask my team to reach out."

Premier League players having been taking the knee in support of racial equality since June 2020

While at former club Watford, Deeney was a key organiser of Premier League players taking the knee for the first time during the summer of 2020 in support of racial equality and the Black Lives Matter campaign, with players wearing shirts bearing that message after the top flight's resumption.

In his letter he wrote: "Twenty months ago, I was kneeling alongside my colleagues in the centre of a football pitch.

"Now, nearly two years on from the death of George Floyd and the tidal wave of outrage that followed, an eerie quiet seems to have descended on national cultural debate and the issues raised have receded from the news agenda.

"Yet in that time both myself and my family have continued to experience vile racist abuse on social media and, at times, in public, emboldening me even further to use my platform to keep the conversation at the forefront of people's minds, campaign for change and not to let this movement and its momentum just fade away."

With a Jamaican father and his mother having Irish heritage, Deeney says he struggled with his identity growing up.

He told BBC Sport: "The best part about my school in terms of black history was I got to watch [American TV series] Roots at school, which is about slavery. That was it.

"In regards to my own children, I see what they're talking about and, more broadly, the lack of things that they're talking about.

"I always find it quite disheartening that the only representation we have from a black perspective is always one I consider negative. We always learn about the slave trade and things like that - and there's a lot more.

"I just realised that everyone's got a different lens on the world. So why not, at a more youthful level, try to open everyone's eyes a little bit more and open their minds a bit more?"

In his letter to Zahawi, Deeney details his own struggles at school, explaining he was expelled at 15 and informed by one teacher that he would be dead by the time he was 25.

Earlier this month, Deeney commissioned a YouGov survey of 1,107 teachers, with 54% of all respondents believing the national curriculum does have a racial bias and 72% thinking the government should do more to support the teaching of cultural diversity.

"We've done research, we've commissioned surveys, teachers are not feeling empowered" he added.

"I think that's very dangerous because the people we're putting in charge to teach our kids don't feel confident enough within their role to talk about subjects that are happening in the world.

"When you talk about history, it massively comes under this taboo like, 'let's not talk about it, let's not disrespect what's gone on before' - and nobody wants to do that.

"I've never asked for anything to be removed, maybe just add a bit more.

"You see what's happening in Wales now. It's mandatory that diversity is taught across the whole school curriculum, from every subject. It's more diverse, more engaging with the times that we currently live in."

Under Wales' new curriculum, set to be rolled out in primary schools in 2022 and the following year in secondary schools, all children will be taught about racism and the contributions of black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

In response to Deeney's open letter, a department for education spokesperson said: "The curriculum in our schools offers pupils the opportunity to study significant figures from black and ethnic minority backgrounds and the contributions they have made to the nation, as well as helping them understand our shared history with countries from across the world.

"Schools play a crucial role in helping young people understand the world around them and their place within it. We continue to be informed by the work of committed individuals and groups when it comes to supporting the teaching of black and minority ethnic history."

In England currently, it is for schools and teachers themselves to determine the examples, topics and resources used to stimulate and challenge pupils and reflect key points in history.

Earlier this month the government issued new guidance to schools in England, reminding them to teach sensitive issues in a non-biased way.

It aims to help teachers cover complex topics, such as the history of the British Empire, without pushing one political view over another.

MP Zahawi said no subject should be off limits, but teaching must be impartial.

When asked what he would say to anyone concerned that teaching could become politicised or divisive, Deeney added: "Everyone's going to have an opinion.

"Why not be on the front foot for once and have a conversation with teachers who are comfortable and confident and deliver a curriculum that is more representative of all ourselves?

"I expect resistance, I expect online abuse, but I'm already living that anyway so what have I got to fear in that regard?"

When asked how feasible it would be for teachers to address the specific history and experiences of all pupils in diverse classrooms, Deeney said: "No-one's saying every single history lesson has to be about black, Asian and mixed ethnicities.

"We are saying that over the course of a 12-month period, when kids are at school, we can learn a little bit about everybody and keep doing that from a younger age."

Birmingham-born Deeney began his professional career at Walsall in 2006 before moving to Watford four years later.

He went on to score 140 goals in 419 appearances for the Hornets, twice helping the club earn promotion to the Premier League and reach the FA Cup final in 2019.

Deeney was released in the summer of 2021 after 11 seasons at Vicarage Road and signed for boyhood club Birmingham on a free transfer.

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