SLAVERY REMEMBRANCE DAY

SLAVERY Remembrance Day is commemorated this Thursday 23 August 2007 with exciting free events in the city centre and at Otterspool promenade, south Liverpool.  The new International Slavery Museum (ISM) opens at the Albert Dock, Liverpool, on Slavery Remembrance Day 23 August 2007.

Slavery Remembrance Day is celebrated every year on 23 August 2007 with a series of free events. This year is especially important because 2007 is the bicentenary of the abolition of the British slave trade.

On 23 August 1791, an uprising of enslaved Africans on the island of Santa Domingo (modern Haiti and the Dominican Republic) began. This revolt was crucial in the fight against slavery.

The Slavery Remembrance Day Otterspool events start at 12 noon on Thursday 23 August 2007 with activities suitable for families and children including traditional African and Caribbean food. 

At 1300 hours Chief Angus Chukuemeka and community leaders take part in a traditional African libation ceremony when liquid is scattered on the river from the promenade.

Between 1330 and 1500 hours there are music and drama performances in the marquee showcasing black culture and heritage. Poet Levi Tafari opens and closes the event with 2 specially-commissioned poems A Call to Remember and A Call to Act.

The River Niger Orchestra perform in the first section of the event telling the story of the transatlantic slave trade before abolition in 1807.

Sense of Sound, a choir, sing gospel songs and spirituals taking us through the history of slavery in the American plantations beyond 1807. Rapper Young Kof performs songs focussing on the contemporary resonances of slavery, concluding with a specially-written Liverpool Legacy Rap. Artistic direction and event co-ordination support provided by Fuse: New Theatre for Young People.

Dr Molefi Asante is a professor in the Department of African-American Studies at Temple University, Philadelphia. He is the distinguished author of 61 books, most recently The History of Africa. Dr Asante examines the fundamental sources of chattel slavery in the imagination of the English-speaking world. Admitting that the economic incentive was a powerful motive for the rise and growth of the enslavement of African people, he argues that the special use of the concept of “chattel” applied to Africans emerged out of the exigencies of the enslavers’ confrontation with Christian ethics. How was it possible for one person to hold another person in bondage? By discussing the history of the term “chattel” and explaining its relationship to the emerging capitalist economies of Europe and America, Dr Asante situates the ideological foundation of chattel slavery not in English common law, as might be expected, but in the English colonists’ interpretation of difference.

1045 hours Thursday 23 August, Our Lady and St Nicholas’s Church, Liverpool: Multi-faith Act of Reflection remembering the victims of the transatlantic slave trade and affirming commitment to human rights and social justice for all. Event co-ordination support provided by Fuse: New Theatre for Young People.

The International Slavery Museum, within Merseyside Maritime Museum, opens on 23 August, Slavery Remembrance Day 2007. Designated by UNESCO, the date was chosen as a reminder that enslaved Africans were the main agents of their own liberation. Liverpool, central to the transatlantic slave trade in the 18th century, is a fitting location in which to commemorate the anniversary of this important landmark.

The galleries at the International Slavery Museum feature new dynamic and thought-provoking displays about the story of the transatlantic slave trade. It includes new displays about the legacy of transatlantic slavery and addresses issues such as freedom, identity, human rights, reparations, racial discrimination and cultural change.

The museum also seeks to address ignorance and misunderstanding by looking at the deep and permanent impact of slavery and the slave trade on Africa, South America, the USA, the Caribbean and western Europe.

A 2nd phase of the project, due to open in 2010, will include the development of a new visitor-focused education centre with an events programme of performance, public lectures and debate using the newly-acquired Dock Traffic Office. A research institute based in the museum is being developed in partnership with the University of Liverpool.

Liverpool has been at the forefront of the commemorations since Slavery Remembrance Day started in 1999. Liverpool Slavery Remembrance Initiative is a partnership between National Museums Liverpool, individuals from the city’s black community, Liverpool City Council, Liverpool Culture Company and The Mersey Partnership.

Holy Smoke! Brits Save Photos but Discard Sacred Texts in Fire

SURVEY Commemorating Great Fire/Birth of Insurance Reveals Most Treasured Possessions.  Exactly 340 years since modern home insurance was born, following the Great Fire of London, the British public exposed a sentimental streak as photographs came top (39% of those who would save something) in a poll revealing what 1 item we would grab if our house was burning down.

The research was commissioned by Congregational & General Insurance, the national ethical insurer, to highlight which personal possessions the British public holds most dear – it has been released to mark the 340th anniversary of the introduction of domestic fire insurance in 1667 by Nicholas Barbon in the aftermath of the Great Fire of London.  YouGov, who conducted the survey among 2,605 British adults, asked the public which 1 item, from a comprehensive list of personal possessions, they would save if their house was burning down.

Following photographs, important documents such as passports came 2nd, garnering 23% of the vote; with cash or credit cards third with 16%. Rounding off the top 5 were laptops or computers (9%) and then a family heirloom (6%).  However, as a nation we are unlikely to seek religious solace and reach for our Bibles or other holy texts if forced to evacuate our abodes: just 0.4% said they would salvage them – less popular than clothes (1%), MP3 players (1%) or mobile phones (2%).

In contrast, though, a similar survey conducted by Congregational in 2006 revealed that 10% of the Christian respondents stated that they would reach 1st for the Bible in the event of a domestic fire.  Interestingly, 7% from the most recent survey said they were not bothered enough about anything they own to try and save it from their burning home.

Margaret Slater, Marketing Manager at Congregational, said:- “Our research marks the 340th anniversary of the birth of domestic fire insurance and whilst none of us like to think about having a domestic fire, the question of what we’d save does provide for some interesting insights.  In spite of both gender and age differences, it was interesting for us to note that photographs, those inimitable reminders of happy memories, were still the most treasured possession, perhaps due to their irreplaceable nature.  However, we were surprised to note that the UK’s sentimentality does not necessarily extend to saving holy texts, with less than half a per cent wanting to save them.”

The research revealed stark gender divides in what men and women most treasure. For those who would save something, although ‘Photographs’ was still the most common response for both sexes, women (47%) appeared to be more sentimental than men (30%).  In further evidence that the gender divide is alive and well in the UK, more than double the amount of men (13%) confessed to choosing to save their laptop compared with women (6%).   However, the older we get the less interested we become in photographs: it was the top response for 50% of all 25 to 34 year olds, and all other age categories, yet it was only the 2nd-top choice (32%) for the over 55s who treasured important documents such as passports as their main concern (34%).

Further findings:-

* Just 7% of 18 to 24-year-olds would rescue cash or credit cards, but this almost trebled to 20% of all the over 55s.

* 8% of 18 to 24 year olds would save their mobile phone, versus only 1% of the over 55s

* 5% of Londoners would save their mobile phone, as opposed to just 1% of Scots

* 1% of Scots would save a personal grooming item against a national average of zero

If your home was burning down, what 1 item would you save:-

1. Photographs – 39%
2. Important documents eg passport – 23%
3. Cash/credit cards, etc – 16%
4. Laptop/computer – 9%
5. Family heirloom – 6%
6 = Jewellery – 2%
6. = Mobile phone – 2%
8 = MP3/iPod, etc – 1%
8 = Item of clothing – 1%
10 Bible/Holy text – 0.4%

(Percentages from those who would save something)

For more information, visit www.shared-values.co.uk.