Racism : Prestigious British Public School Eton Apologises To The First Black Person/Nigerian To Complete From The School

 

According to BBC the headmaster of Eton College has apologised to the first black person to complete from the prestigious public school.Nigerian writer Dillibe Onyeama obtained his school-leaving certificate from Eton in 1969.

He wrote a book about the racism he experienced at the school and was subsequently banned from visiting. The book is titled Ni###r at Eton, which he published in 1982

Head Master Simon Henderson said "we have made significant strides since".

But he acknowledged that there was "more to do".

Dillibe Onyeama as a student at Eton

"We have made significant strides since Onyeama was at Eton but - as millions of people around the world rightly raise their voices in protest against racial discrimination and inequality - we have to have the institutional and personal humility to acknowledge that we still have more to do," Mr Henderson told the BBC.

Onyeama told the BBC that the apology was not necessary and did not change his view of Eton, which on the whole was positive.

He added however, that the apology "compels the recognition that prejudice on the grounds of colour or race dehumanises its victims in a way that ordinary forms of prejudice do not".

He previously told the BBC that he had been taunted on a daily basis at Eton by fellow students.

He was asked questions like "Why are you black?", "How many maggots are there in your hair?" and "Does your mother wear a bone in her nose?"

When Onyeama performed poorly in academics or excelled in sports, the students attributed it to his race.

When he obtained seven O-level passes, the entire school was confounded.

"'Tell me Onyeama, how did you do it?' I am asked time and time again," he wrote in his book. "'You cheated, didn't you?'"

After leaving the school, he detailed these experiences in a memoir and in 1972 he received an official letter informing him that he was banned from visiting Eton.

The headmaster's response comes as some leading British companies and institutions, such as insurance market Lloyd's of London and pub chain Greene King, have apologised for historical links to the slave trade.

Those apologies were spurred by the recent wave of Black Lives Matter protests.

Eton was founded by King Henry VI in 1440 and has a worldwide reputation for its high educational standards.

Currently it charges fees of more than £40,000 ($50,000) a year.