11-08-2020, 16:18
There is an assumption that Leslie didn't make the team because they realised he was black ......... we don't actually know it, but the assumption doesn't seem unreasonable.
It is very big news down here in the South-West, rivalling tourists literally laying waste to Salcombe and all points west. In Plymouth it is controversially proposed to name a street after Leslie. It is controversial because the street has long been named after Sir John Hawkins, a privateer, who fought alongside Drake and who has also been looked upon as the originator of England's slave trade. For centuries Hawkins was regarded as a hero and it is certainly a denial of history to consign him to obscurity. But other than in Plymouth Jack Leslie's life and achievements had been allowed to slip into obscurity too. In today's game a winger with his capacity for scoring goals would be fast-tracked to fame and fortune with a top Premier League club and would have little difficulty gathering a collection of England caps.
The only sad aspect is that very belated recognition of Jack Leslie is not simply the good news story it should be. He should be recognised and we should both celebrate how much our attitudes are changing and have changed and be aware that cities like Plymouth and Bristol became themselves via the slave trade. We should also be aware that Manchester's development and the Industrial Revolution itself were partially driven by the profits made because products like cotton, sugar and tobacco were produced by slave labour. We can't forget our history, both good and bad, because we must not forget why Jack Leslie was forgotten and how a man like that could be left to clean Bobby Moore's boots. But as you read this, do consider that the world today with all the comforts you enjoy would be very different had the slave trade not existed. Black History matters and should be taught, but part of that history was the commodification of black people, because they were not recognised as fully human. God-fearing Christian men made fortunes slaving and gave us hospitals and schools to remember them by.
It is very big news down here in the South-West, rivalling tourists literally laying waste to Salcombe and all points west. In Plymouth it is controversially proposed to name a street after Leslie. It is controversial because the street has long been named after Sir John Hawkins, a privateer, who fought alongside Drake and who has also been looked upon as the originator of England's slave trade. For centuries Hawkins was regarded as a hero and it is certainly a denial of history to consign him to obscurity. But other than in Plymouth Jack Leslie's life and achievements had been allowed to slip into obscurity too. In today's game a winger with his capacity for scoring goals would be fast-tracked to fame and fortune with a top Premier League club and would have little difficulty gathering a collection of England caps.
The only sad aspect is that very belated recognition of Jack Leslie is not simply the good news story it should be. He should be recognised and we should both celebrate how much our attitudes are changing and have changed and be aware that cities like Plymouth and Bristol became themselves via the slave trade. We should also be aware that Manchester's development and the Industrial Revolution itself were partially driven by the profits made because products like cotton, sugar and tobacco were produced by slave labour. We can't forget our history, both good and bad, because we must not forget why Jack Leslie was forgotten and how a man like that could be left to clean Bobby Moore's boots. But as you read this, do consider that the world today with all the comforts you enjoy would be very different had the slave trade not existed. Black History matters and should be taught, but part of that history was the commodification of black people, because they were not recognised as fully human. God-fearing Christian men made fortunes slaving and gave us hospitals and schools to remember them by.