History

Solidarity on Slavery Day

An Open Letter to the Government Race Relations Forum, from the Editor

"Bound captive" crest of Sir John Hawkins, slaver to Queen Elizabeth the first

When the world last passed through a millennial point in time, blacks were not slaves; nor West Indian, Negro or even Black British; just African, and free. For this reason, I first rejected the call by the popular black newspaper New Nation for a Slavery Commemoration Day.

It seemed to put the "accent on the wrong sy-lla-ble", as a Caribbean calypsonian might say. It was too compliant, too subservient; too accepting of the only way colonialists justified murder, pillage and uprooting of "lesser breeds". And worse yet, it felt uncomfortable, too compatible with stereotypes of blacks as a genetically inferior underclass of post-industrial society. Frankly, the idea of a slavery day seemed to have no potential for black pride and empowerment. How could you commemorate man's inhumanity to man?

Yet, upon reflection, one can see redemptive and uplifting virtues in addressing "the evil that shaped black and white relations over the past four centuries". A slavery commemoration day, whatever its final title, can have a dual cleansing purpose. Hence this open letter to the Government's race relations forum charged with considering the proposal.

First of all, the day can serve to undergird a nation's determination to never again enslave another people, neither for glory, god or gain. Freedom Struggles would be the underlying theme.

Partisans of today's headlined issues - among them anti-racism, the Stephen Lawrence tragedy, the Telford hangings, and myriad asylum and immigration horror stories - would unfurl their banners. But, the men and women who challenged the power of the slave traders and colonisers should be specially honoured. The forgotten ones who roused enslaved black masses with cries of "Massa day don done" should be given prominence, with their emancipationist allies.

Of course, historians of the "nefarious trade in human beings" will have to revise their weighty tomes and reveal that enslaved Africans were the "strength and sinew of this western world"

We know that Britain's Granville Sharp and William Wilberforce were prominent supporters of the "poor, helpless and friendless slaves" and did much to end the traffic in human beings. The Abolitionists, too, saw the slave trade for what it was: "the crumbling prop of an immoral system". But a lesser known fact is that New World Africans hacked their own pathways to freedom out of the dense underbrush of slavery.

Didn't...

Caribbean writer statesman Eric Williams tell, in his book Capitalism and Slavery, how sea captains, adventurers, soldiers, merchants and gentry launched the trade with the patronage of Queen Elizabeth, then harnessed black labour, built up the British economy and financed its Industrial Revolution, while the Black Atlantic's 40 millions reaped a bitter harvest of shattered lives and looted lands.

Didn't...

the resisters and freedom fighters say in 1816:

Didn't...

Toussaint L'Ouverture

Haiti's liberator, Toussaint L'Ouverture, counter the threats of the neo-colonial French by proudly declaring: "Do (you) think that men who have been able to enjoy the blessing of liberty will calmly see it snatched away?...if they had a thousand lives they would sacrifice them all rather than be forced into slavery again."

Secondly, the commemoration day should affirm the solidarity of the nation's diverse peoples in countering the evils of discrimination and exploitation - at home and abroad.

Remember: slavery was no mere abstraction even in Britain. By the late 18^th century, thousands of imported Africans and New World blacks were forced to work as chattel and domestic slaves. Deptford, on London's Thameside, was a major slaving port and home to peoples of the diaspora of African, West Indian, African-American origins. Celebrated free blacks in London, the Ghanaian Ottobah Cugoano and Nigerian Olaudah Equiano, condemned the "race phobia" of the press that threatened to expel Afro-British communities. "The voice of our complaint implies a vengeance," wrote Cugoano.

And, to their credit, riverside poor white communities sheltered runaway black servants and seamen. Indeed, history reveals the distinctive unity between blacks and labouring class whites against the force and fraud of capitalism and slavery. For example, London Afro-Americans and militant former slaves, among them John Glover, Benjamin Bowsey, and Catherine Gardner, were leading members of the earliest workers' rights movements. Likewise, many labouring and journeymen whites were wise enough to see that the abolition of slavery was integral to their own demands for decent wages and living conditions.

Now, as we begin to face the challenges of the 21^st century, the historical paradox of slavery persisting and thriving in a society formally dedicated to the ideals of liberty, resonates. Modern racism, born in the interstices of slavery and colonialism, threatens the democratic way of life whenever and wherever any group is reviled and excluded from equality of esteem, status and resources.

Given the depth of disadvantage that still besets black communities, only an adroit emphasis on the two powerful themes outlined here will give real meaning to a slavery commemoration day.

"Dance of the [rebel]Maroons," UWI Press Cat. 1996-7

The day must illuminate the extraordinarily rich and vibrant tradition of black self-emancipation from enslavement. And, it must serve to mobilise black-white solidarity across all segments of society into a common discourse to resolve urgent contemporary issues of inequality.

Inevitably, government ministers, party politicians, and race relations advisors will adorn their official statements with pithy phrases. They will urge a balance between commemorating the victims of slavery and celebrating the role of Britain in its abolition.

Civic leaders will propose memorial buildings, statues and eternal flames, along with national ceremonies and festivals to showcase the arts and finery of black culture. There will be calls for commemorative stamps and tours to significant and infamous slavery sites, dockyards, ports, town halls, merchants' houses and stately residences.

But the day is not theirs alone to appropriate. Some radicals may demand atonement for the millions who were brutally silenced. They may also seek reparations from the government(s) of the former colonial powers, the descendants of all who colluded in the nefarious practice over 400 years: the diplomats, trading families, and the profiteers of slavery, among them the lords of agro-industry - the sugar, tobacco, plantation owners, and concessionary and shipping companies.

But, in all the day's commemorations, there must be one defining moment that is special for people of African descent: when they retell and revitalise their heritage, sing mournful prayers and liberatory anthems, beat upon the drum of courage, and pour libation for the souls of black folks, then and now.

Notes:

The Government Race Relations Forum: origins, tasks and membership

The Race Relations Forum, chaired by Home Secretary Jack Straw, was set up by the incoming Labour Government to advise him on issues affecting ethnic minority communities. First convened in June 1998, it was widely publicised as a contribution to policy development by giving minorities a 'voice at the heart of Government'. They meet just twice a year but after Prime Minister Tony Blair's intervention they have discussed and will report on the New Nation's proposal at a meeting later this year. The Forum's membership is drawn from various ethnic minority communities and individuals with experience and expertise. The members of the Forum are:

Mr Rumman Ahmed, Community Relations Adviser, Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea

Ms Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Researcher, Institute of Public Policy Research; Journalist; columnist on The Independent; and Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre

Mr Michael Boye-Anawomah JP, Chair, African Youth Trust (AYT) and former Special Adviser to the Equalities Task Group

Ms Rachel Campbell MBE MEd BEd (Hons) DipEd, Former Headteacher, Mount Stuart Primary School, Cardiff

Mr Thomas Chan, Advocacy Services Manager, Camden & Islington Community Health Trust and a Member of the Executive Committee, Redbridge Race Equality Council

Mr Lincoln Crawford QC, Chairman of the Bar's Race Relations Committee

Mr Mohammed Dhalech, Senior Policy Advisor, South Wales Police

Lord Navnit Dholakia OBE JP, Vice-Chairman, National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders and a member of the Police Complaints Authority

Mrs Zerbanoo Gifford, Director of the Asha Foundation

Baroness Howells of St Davids OBE, Former member of the Advisory Council on Race Relations

Mr Lee Jasper, Senior Policy Adviser, Greater London Authority

Rev Dr Gus John, Consultant.

Ms Mukami McCrum, Director, Central Scotland Racial Equality Council

Mr Norman McLean MBE, Director, National Mentoring Consortium, University of East London

Ms Gloria Mills, Director of Equal Opportunities, UNISON

Dr Dwain Neil, Recruitment Manager, Experienced Recruitment, Shell Services International Ltd

Sir Herman Ouseley, Independent Consultant; Director of Different Realities Partnership & Focus Consultancy Ltd; Chairman of Caribbean Advisory Group (FCO) and Chairman of KICK IT OUT Ltd

Lord Adam Hafejee Patel, Businessman; President of Blackburn and District Indian Workers Association; Director, East Lancashire Training Enterprise Council; Member and Joint Chairman of Christian/Muslim Inter Faith Forum

Ms Shushila Patel, Independent Consultant; CRE Commissioner; Board Member of Redbridge and Waltham Forest Health Authority and Vice Chair of Redbridge Refugee Forum

Mr Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Greater London Authority and Trustee of the Runnymede Trust

Ms Rachel Pickavance, Equal Opportunities Advisory Panel to Head of Home Civil Service

Mr Iqbal A K M Sacranie, Member of the Executive Committee of the Muslim Council in Britain; Chairman of Muslim Aid and Joint Convenor of the UK Action Committee on Islamic Affairs

Ms Pauline Schofield, Volunteer at Contact Centre in Birmingham

Mr Gurbux Singh, Chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality

Mr Ranjit Sondhi, Senior Lecturer, Community and Youth Studies, Westhill College, Birmingham and consultant to the Radio Authority

Dr Richard Stone, Treasurer of the Maimonides Foundation; Chair of the Jewish Council for Racial Equality; Member of the Runnymede Trust Islamophobia Commission and a Member of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry

Mrs Sukhvinder Kaur Stubbs, Writer; independent adviser to the CPS and West Midlands RDA; Chair of the Selection Panel for the Metropolitan Police Authority and Chair of the European Network Against Racism

Rt Revd Wilfred Wood, Area Bishop of Croydon; Non-Executive Director of Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust; member of the Housing Corporation and Chairman of The Martin Luther King Memorial Trust