Imperial War Museum bosses say sorry for woke rap against Churchill

Imperial War Museum bosses say sorry for ending Remembrance Sunday silence with a woke rap against Winston Churchill

• Imperial War Museum apologises for ‘woke’ rap after Remembrance Day silence
• Rap was described as ‘a vile attack on Winston Churchill and a rant about race’
• Witnesses say that members of public walked out in disgust during performance

The Imperial War Museum has apologised for a ‘woke’ rap which it staged at the end of the two-minute silence on Remembrance Day, described as ‘a vile attack on Churchill and a rant about race’.

According to witnesses, members of the public walked out in disgust during the performance by a youth music group funded by the Arts Council in the Museum’s foyer on November 11.

The taxpayer-supported museum in Southwark, south London billed ‘Breaking the Silence’ as ‘a spoken word performances and original music’ by the Midi Music Company, based in Deptford, south-east London.

According to the pre-publicity, the performance was organised by workshop leaders MC Angel, real name , Shauna O’Briain, (left) and Ahmad Dayes (right).

The taxpayer-supported museum in Southwark, south London billed ‘Breaking the Silence’ as ‘a spoken word performances and original music’ by the Midi Music Company, based in Deptford, south-east London

But as the visitors stood respectfully to honour the war dead, they were shocked to hear the words of the performers at the end of the two-minute silence.

One Tripadvisor review from ‘The Savill family’ said: ‘The entire event became horrendous with the inclusion of a Rap which was nothing more than a vile attack on (among others) Churchill and a rant about race.

‘Both are legitimate subjects for debate, but NOT on Remembrance Sunday. My wife who served in the RAF was deeply upset by such a disrespectful charade.

‘We spoke to a member of the staff who was clearly as shocked as we were and said they would pass on our reactions.

‘We left without viewing the exhibition. The whole episode making us question the wisdom of the organisers.’

Another source told MailOnline that the rap contained references to ‘white privilege and how racist Britain is – some of the staff there are incredibly embarrassed about it.’

The Imperial War Museum sent MailOnline a statement containing its apology.

The statement said: ‘For four years, we have offered a platform for the voices of 11 – 18 year olds to engage with our collections and share their perspectives on war and conflict.

‘Presenting the cause, course and consequence of war from the First World War to the present day, IWM’s challenging remit attracts multiple view points and opinions.

As the visitors stood respectfully to honour the war dead, they were shocked to hear the words of the performers at the end of the two-minute silence

‘We do, however, recognise that Remembrance Sunday at IWM London, with the meaning it holds for different people, was not the moment to share this particular iteration of Breaking the Silence.

‘We apologise to anyone who attended who was offended or upset by the performance in any way.’

According to the pre-publicity, the performance was organised by workshop leaders MC Angel and Ahmad Dayes.

MC Angel (real name: Shauna O’Briain) is described on the Midi Music website as ‘a talented wordsmith, performing as a spoken word artist and hip-hop emcee as well as writing page poetry.’ Mr Dayes is described as an ‘engineer, producer, musician’ with over 20- years’ experience.

The incident comes after a small number of other reviews on the museum’s tripadvisor listing criticised their presentation recently.

One reviewer, leaving one star out of five, commented last month: ‘It’s gone slightly woke, trying to be all things to all people and failing. ‘

Another wrote earlier this month: ‘Please keep coming or it will be replaced cheerfully by some woke apology. It is only a matter of time before we are encouraged to be ashamed of our past.’ 

MC Angel, Ahmad Dayes and the Midi Music Company have all been contacted for comment.

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