A new Hillsborough Day could soon be held at schools in Southport and across the Liverpool City region to teach children the truth about what happened and the 33 year fight for justice.
A dedicated ‘Hillsborough Day’ would take place across the Liverpool City Region each year on the nearest Friday to the anniversary of the tragedy.
The disaster saw 97 Liverpool FC fans killed at an FA Cup Semi Final match against Nottingham Forest at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England, on April 15, 1989.
Eighteen of those victims were from Sefton, many of them teenagers, with ages ranging from just 14 years old to 34 years old. Hundreds of people were injured in the crush.
Next Thursday (3rd March), Sefton Council will hear a plea for every Liverpool City Region primary and secondary school to take part in a special assembly to mark the Hillsborough anniversary and to learn more about the disaster, the cover-up and the fight for justice.
This would be done through dedicated teaching resource packs made available to every school in the city region by local education leads.
For the sake of past and future generations, Sefton would then encourage other local authorities across Merseyside and elsewhere to add their support.
The motion is being put forward by Councillor Diane Roscoe, who said: “Sefton Council commends survivors and the families of the 97 fans who lost their lives as a result of the Hillsborough disaster for their three-decade campaign for justice.
“Council also notes that Kevin Sampson’s recent drama for ITV, Anne – considered a masterpiece by many – has highlighted once again the fact that, despite the 97 having been unlawfully killed, to date no individuals or organisations have been held accountable for their deaths.
“Council further notes that the impact of the campaign of lies, smears and propaganda orchestrated by South Yorkshire Police in 1989 and promoted by willing politicians and media continues to this day, with far too many members of the public even now parroting discredited lies about the behaviour of Liverpool fans in attendance at Hillsborough on 15 April 1989.
“It is not surprising to the council that many families of the 97 and Hillsborough survivors have expressed despair at this continuation of lies about Hillsborough.”
Cllr Roscoe is now calling for work to be done to ensure that the story about the disaster and its aftermath are never forgotten – so that what happened on that dark day, and since, can never happen again.
She said: “Sefton Council undertakes to support the ‘Real Truth Legacy Project’ led by Ian Byrne in conjunction with many Hillsborough families and survivors.
“This is a campaign which seeks to ensure that current and future generations learn the truth about Hillsborough, and to ensure that schoolchildren in Liverpool City Region initially have access to a definitive account of the disaster and the subsequent cover-up.
“Council hereby notes its support for a key element of The Real Truth Legacy Project which is to have education about Hillsborough added to the National Curriculum, including a dedicated ‘Hillsborough Day’ in the Liverpool City Region, to take place on the nearest Friday to the anniversary of the tragedy on 15th April each year.
“The Hillsborough Day would see every Liverpool City Region primary and secondary school taking part in a special assembly to mark the anniversary and to learn more about the disaster, the cover-up and the fight for justice through dedicated teaching resource packs made available to every school in the city region by local education leads.
“For the sake of past and future generations, this is something Sefton Council feels it must get behind and calls on all councils in the Liverpool City Region and beyond to add their support to the Real Truth Legacy Project.”
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