International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition
The night of 22 to 23 August 1791, Santo Domingo (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic) saw the beginning of the uprising that would play a crucial role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
Today 23 August is designated by UNESCO as International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition across the world, a reminder that enslaved Africans were the main agents of their own liberation. The day offers an opportunity for collective consideration of the historic causes, the methods and the consequences of this tragedy.
A range of events are planned throughout the UK to mark this important day.
- The International Slavery Museum in Liverpool is organising a Slavery Remembrance Festival (21 – 23 August) which will include a lecture from US Civil Rights activist Diane Nash and a festival celebrating Black culture and heritage.
- The Museum in Docklands in London will host a memorial event with the Equiano Society, where the Guyanese poet John Agard will be reading from Equiano's Epigrams, The Interesting Narrative in Poetry.
- The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich will host a series of events, including a special performance by Gospel singers Ethnovox and a talk by Robert Blyth, the co-author of Representing slavery: art, artefacts and archives in the collections of the National Maritime Museum.
By coming together around a shared vision of the history of the slave trade and slavery, we can build a shared history and lay the foundations of an intercultural dialogue that can deliver a universal message of knowledge and tolerance."
Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO
Written: 23/08/2009 , last modified: 23/08/2009
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