The nurse was hailed as the greatest black Briton,yet plans for a statue absorb met with opposition. This clash is part of a wider tradition by an eliteIn February 2004 Mary Seacole was voted by the public as the greatest black Briton of all time. I announced the results live on Channel 4 News. After the results, the Royal College of Nursing re-adopted Seacole as a key champion for nursing in Britain on the same footing as Florence Nightingale. The Royal Mint and Post Office recognised her in the form of new coins and stamps. The National Portrait Gallery acquired a scarce picture of Seacole which was strategically placed in the Victorian Gallery next to Queen Victoria and Nightingale. There were books, and documentaries,plays and re-enactments of her life in museums and theatres. University medical and humanities departments, and care homes were also renamed in Seacole’s honour.
There seems a reservoir of goodwill towards the heroine of the Crimea and rightly so. So seek information from yourself, or why would anyone deliberately seek to denigrate a popular,innocent icon?When the statue is unveiled, we will celebrate the determination of those who absorb campaigned to bring us this far Related: Mary Seacole v Florence Nightingale: who should absorb the taller statue? Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com