Black Lives Matter has hit back at a Conservative minister after she branded the movement as “anti-capitalist” and “political”, and claimed teachers who present the idea of white privilege as a fact to their students are breaking the law.
Kemi Badenoch, the women and equalities minister, told MPs on Tuesday: “We do not want to see teachers teaching their pupils about white privilege and their inherited racial guilt.
“And let me be clear, any school which teaches these elements of political race theory as fact, or which promotes partisan political views such as defunding the police without offering a balanced treatment of opposing views, is breaking the law.
“But why does this issue mean so much to me? It is not just because I’m a first generation immigrant, it is because my daughter came home from school this month and said ‘we’re learning Black History Month because every other month is about white history’.
“This is wrong and this is not what our children should be picking up. These are not the values I have taught her.”
Badenoch also told MPs that a White Black Lives Matter protester called a Black armed police officer guarding Downing Street during this summer’s protests a “pet n*****”.
She added that examples such as this are why the Conservatives “do not endorse that movement”.
Responding to the general debate on Black History Month in the Commons, Badenoch said: “Some schools have decided to openly support the anti-capitalist Black Lives Matter group – often fully aware that they have the statutory duty to be politically impartial.
“Black lives do matter, of course they do, but we know that the Black Lives Matter movement – capital B, L, M – is political.”
Alex Kelbert, a spokesperson for Black Lives Matter UK, told HuffPost UK: “Whether or not it is taught in schools, white privilege is real because racism is real.
“Racism is real in our healthcare system, where black mothers are five times more likely to die during pregnancy.
“Racism is real in our schools, where Black Caribbean pupils are nearly twice as likely to be excluded as white pupils.
“Racism is real when we apply for a job, or try to rent a house or take home on average 21.7% less pay than our white counterparts.
“BLM is proud to be political, but it is the Conservative party that is playing politics. They try to deny the racism we can see with our own eyes.
“We will continue to fight this divisive politics through our organisation and alongside the wider movement.”