Jeremy Corbyn commits to adding LGBT history to the curriculum if he becomes Prime Minister
By Darren Mew
Jeremy Corbyn has suggested an LGBT history month could be brought into schools if he becomes the next Prime Minister.
Speaking at the Pink News awards last night (October 26), the Labour leader said that the national curriculum needs to be updated to show the fight for equality through LGBT rights and important LGBT figures.
By doing this he hopes it would normalise the LGBT community instead of seeing them as an other.
He said that children should be taught about the likes of Oscar Wilde, an Enigma code-breaker Alan Turing, both of whom were persecuted and prosecuted for homosexual acts, while also being hugely significant historical figures.
“So, bring forward those figures as the heroes they were of the time, and help to bring forward an atmosphere of people respecting each other’s sexuality,” he said.
He was asked if the LGBT education would take a similar form to black history month, he replied saying: “There could be that, or there could be part of the core curriculum to understand the change in law, the way in which we have changed homosexual law from the illegality of homosexual acts until the 1960’s, when the original homosexual law reform came in.
“Then through to the period when same sex marriage was agreed by Parliament two years ago.
“I want it to become part of the norm of discussion in schools, so discussing it in literature, discussing it in history, so that we don’t treat it as separate.”
He also added, “Let’s get a new generation to rejoice at the huge contribution LGBT people have made throughout history.”