West Indies fast bowling legend has delivered a powerful, thought-provoking speech on the ongoing Black Lives Matter calling out the systematic brainwashing and need for educating both sides to eradicate racism.
Holding cited examples from history on how blacks were dehumanised through various events and it’s something that should never be forgotten.
“Education is important unless we want to continue living the life that we are living and want to continue having demonstrations now and again and a few people saying a few things. When I say education, I mean going back in history. What people need to understand is that thing stems from a long time ago, hundreds of years ago,” Holding said on Sky Sports.
“The dehumanisation of the black race is where it started. People will tell you that’s a long time ago, get over it. No, you don’t get over things like that and society has not gotten over something like that,” he added.
Holding, a feared fast bowler of his era, said education is necessary for ridding the society of racism.
“How do you get rid of that in society? By educating both sides – black and white,” the 66-year-old.
Delving into religion, Holding said Jesus Chris has been depicted as white while Judas, who betrayed him, is a black man and that is how people have been brainwashed over centuries.
“Until we educate the entire human race, this thing will not stop.”
Michael Holding delivers a powerful message, explaining why #BlackLivesMatter. pic.twitter.com/2jiATkOqQ4
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 8, 2020
“We have been brainwashed and not just black people, white people have been brainwashed in many ways. Think about religion I am not really a very holy person, not a very religious person but that is what we were taught.
“Look at Jesus Christ and the image of Jesus Christ – pale skin, blonde hair, blue eyes. Where Jesus came from, who in that part of the world looks that way? Again, that is brainwashing to show you what the image of perfection is. If you look at the plays of those days, Judas who betrayed Jesus, he’s a black man. Again, brainwashing people to think ‘he is a black man, he is the bad man,” he observed.
He continued, “These lights that are shining on us. You can tell me who invented the lightbulb – Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb. Thomas Edison invented a lightbulb with a paper filament – it burned out in no time at all.”
“Can you tell me who invented the filament that makes these lights shine throughout? Nobody knows because it was a black man. I was not taught in schools – Lewis Howard Latimer invented the carbon filament to allow lights to continuously shine. Who knows that?”
He reiterated the importance of education and avoid selective teaching.
“Everything should be taught. When you go back through schooling as a young man, I remember my school days. I was never taught anything good about black men. You cannot have a society that was brought up like that – both white and black – only teach what is convenient to the teacher,” he said.
“History is written by the conqueror, not by those who are conquered. History is written by the people who do the harming, not those who are harmed. We need to go back and teach both sides of history,” he added.
Both England and West Indies cricketers took a knee before the start of their first Test in Southampton on Wednesday as a mark of solidarity towards the BLM movement.
