Historian David Olusoga has argued that racist language should not be removed from classic books or TV shows, suggesting that young people should "toughen up" instead.
Speaking at the Hay Festival, Olusoga said it was more beneficial to confront offensive language from the past rather than censor it.
"I think we need to be tougher. Our ancestors had those words shouted at them; we just have to read them in a book," the historian stated.
He expressed disagreement with removing offensive words or excluding certain books from syllabuses despite understanding concerns about potentially shocking content.
Historian, broadcaster and film-maker David Olusoga
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Olusoga acknowledged generational differences regarding content warnings, saying: "The thing I'm very aware of is that I'm from a different generation to the generation that is familiar with trigger warnings.
"I get their argument that it is good to be told that a book has certain stories or certain words that might come as a shock."
However, he maintained his position against removing offensive content from educational materials.
The historian recently contributed to a documentary about the BBC's "The Black and White Minstrel Show" that continued broadcasting until the late 1970s, which featured white performers in blackface.
Olusoga elaborated on the importance of confronting offensive historical content during his festival appearance, stating: "To understand how that form of entertainment delivered racism, delivered racial stereotypes and delivered racial language into the British idiom, you have to confront those words."
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He argued that sanitising such content diminishes understanding of its harmful impact.
"I don't think it is possible to get across just how toxic it is unless you put your hand in the fire," he said.
"Nor is it better to hide from those words and not be able to obtain a proper knowledge of the power of that entertainment."
Novels that have been edited to remove racist references include the James Bond series, with Ian Fleming's books reissued in 2023 after review by sensitivity readers.Some Agatha Christie mysteries have undergone similar treatment to remove offensive language.
The League of Gentlemen cast: Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss, Jeremy Dyson and Steve Pemberton
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Television content has also been impacted , with episodes of "Little Britain" edited on BBC iPlayer due to controversial content.
"The League of Gentlemen" was removed from Netflix entirely because of its use of blackface to portray certain characters.
These examples illustrate the ongoing debate about how to handle historically offensive content in modern media consumption.
While acknowledging the validity of Black History Month, Olusoga suggested it "doesn't solve the big problem" and may even reinforce the idea of Black history as separate from mainstream history.
He highlighted how British industrial history often omits crucial connections to slavery, noting that cotton produced by enslaved African-Americans was essential to Britain's Industrial Revolution.
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