Britain’s First black headmaster of a secondary school in action: doubling as roving sleuth by carlton duncan
“If [British education] can make innocent children become racist, then we can make them non-racist by the same process.”
What do we know about the Black educators who pioneered anti-racism pedagogy in British education? That is the story of Carlton Duncan, a member of the postcolonial generation who took on the challenge of righting the institutional wrongs that intentionally targeted minoritized students and teachers across the country. In his new book, Britain’s First Black Headmaster of a Secondary School in Action: Doubling as a Roving Sleuth, Duncan sheds much-needed light on his role in the decolonial wave that rocked educational institutions from the 1960s onward.
As the title suggests, Duncan’s journey to becoming the first Black headteacher of a secondary school in the UK was far from straightforward. In each chapter, the specter of racism looms large in both his professional and personal life—a constant reminder of the barriers faced by Black and Asian people in British society to this day. This is a great benefit of the book, as each example of institutional or interpersonal racism that he shares from his four-decade career provides the reader with rich context. These personal touches also allow us to gain real insight into his life, from his marriage, fatherhood, and family, to his self-styled “detective role” in the community, and even his moonlighting as a professional dancer under the moniker “Duncan Duncan,” the Twist Champion from Jamaica.
Early on in the book, we discover that Duncan’s love, respect, and admiration for the teaching profession are deeply rooted in the culture of Jamaica and the world-class education he received on the island. Tellingly, after describing the world-class education he received in the land of his birth, Duncan goes on to speak about having to swallow the “bitter medicine” of being forced to requalify as a teacher in the UK all over again due to the colonialist racism embedded in the British education system.
Later in the book, Duncan recounts his career development and the dynamics that characterized it. He describes his role as a Coventry magistrate and his involvement in government-led initiatives from the 1970s onward, including his work as a committee member who contributed to the pivotal 1981 report, Education for All (The Swann Report). Yet despite his obvious suitability as an experienced deputy head teacher and his nationally recognized work as an educationist, Duncan was forced to apply over 100 times before he secured his first headship position.
At the core of this book is a concerted effort to trace the development of the anti-racism movement in education. Duncan traces the history back to the early 1960s, when Bernard Coard addressed the issues of underachievement and disproportionate exclusion in his timely book, How the West Indian Child is Made Educationally Subnormal in the British School System. Going further, he makes the link between British colonialism, global anti-colonial struggles, and the internalized colonial mind-set of many UK teachers.
When we look at ongoing racism in schools today—from disproportionate attainment to disparities in permanent exclusion—decoloniality clearly remains an essential mission. But how has this issue been allowed to persist for so long? Duncan lays the blame squarely at the feet of key civil servants and government figures, who bury their collective heads in the political sands at best and perpetuate unfounded and colonial stereotypes at worst.
What is the solution? Duncan points to the reactionary role of national teaching unions, which are often defensive about their treatment of Black students, and argues that Black parents, students, and sympathetic teachers must leverage their collective weight to force change. In his words, “The answer must be found in the institution of equality and justice measures for all our children whose life chances are at stake,” because this is the only way to have a “fighting chance of mutual respect” and ensure that Black and Asian families are “heard in places where it matters.”
Going even further, Duncan draws parallels with the schools-to-prison pipeline that characterizes US education and argues that the distinct mistreatment experienced by Black students in Britain is a violation of their human rights under Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (which states that “No one shall be subjected to torture, or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”). He has a point. The entrenched indifference to Black students having their life chances systematically destroyed by the British school system can only be described as a human rights violation, especially when so many excluded Black students are left to fester by schools that feel their legal and moral duties no longer apply.
Throughout the book, the implications of racism are ever-present in Duncan’s professional and private life—a constant reminder to the reader of the ongoing struggle and the battles ahead. But just as ever-present in Duncan’s work is the spirit of love, faith, and resilience that keeps hope alive in our communities.