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The 23 August is International Day for the Remembrance of the
Slave Trade and its Abolition. Designated by UNESCO, the date
marks the world's first successful uprising by enslaved Africans
in Haiti (then St Domingue) in 1791.
"This day enables us to remember our connection to one
of the ugliest chapters in human history and celebrate the power
of collective resistance. The uprising in 1791 empowered Africans
throughout the Caribbean and Americas to resist their enslavement
and played a significant role in ending the Transatlantic Slave
Trade," Mary Cunneen, Director of Anti-Slavery International
said.
Anti-Slavery International, the world's oldest international human
rights organisation, the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich and
Society of Black Lawyers are commemorating Britain's link to the
slave trade with a day of events in Greenwich, London. Central to
Britain's involvement in the trade, Greenwich was home to some of
England's most prestigious slave traders and slave trading companies;
many of the ships that carried enslaved Africans across the Atlantic
left from its port. It was also where some of Britain's most important
abolitionists lived, including former slaves Olaudah Equiano and
Ignatius Sancho, who contributed to ending the Transatlantic Slave
Trade.
All activities on 23 August are free and will include a historical
'slave trail' around local sites connected with slavery, community
participatory theatre, Batanai African drummers, and an evening
ceremony of remembrance with a traditional African Libation by the
River Thames, poured by Chief Omilade Oladele. Lee Jasper - London
Mayor Senior Policy Advisor - will deliver a city address and poetry
is by Jean Binta Breeze. For full details of the day see: http://www.antislavery.org/archive/other/LondonTSTcommemoration.htm
This event will unite communities in a common history, communicate
powerful messages locally and nationally and raise London's profile
as a city that is ready to engage with its past.
Also on this day, Anti-Slavery International is launching an
educational website on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its legacy,
as part of Breaking the Silence, UNESCO's International
ASPnet Transatlantic Slave Trade Education Project. Through it,
teachers and students can access a global array or resources, enabling
in-depth understanding of the subject and its impact on our lives
today. The new website will be online from 23 August: www.antislavery.org/breakingthesilence
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