Slavery Yesterday and Today

The 200th anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade is being recognised at Emmanuel United Reformed Church with an exhibition called Slavery Yesterday and Today - Today's Fight for Tomorrow's Freedom.

The exhibition starts with the abolition of slavery in the British dominions emphasising not just the work of Wilberforce and Clarkson but also the contribution to the fight against slavery by women.

There will be material from two of the Emmanuel congregation whose forbears were personally involved in the fight to abolish slavery. Samuel Darke was recognised for his "long, unremitting, gratuitous and unobtrusive services" in working towards the "triumph of Negro freedom in the British Colonies". Revd James Read (who married an African) gave evidence before the Committee of the House of Commons in 1832 - the year before the Act of the Abolition of Slavery was passed in the British Dominions.

 
There will be illustration of the extent and nature of slavery in the present day as defined by the United Nations, including bonded labour, slavery by descent, child labour and people trafficking (largely, though not exclusively, for prostitution).

On Friday 16th March at 8pm there will be a cafe studio event called Sing Freedom, an entertainment including a message in words, music and dance devised by Ali Bullivent and called Dignity: Sing Out Against Slavery. It focuses particularly on the enslavement of women in the past and present. There is no charge and all are welcome.

Slavery Yesterday and Today - Today's Fight for Tomorrow's Freedom is open Tuesdays to Fridays from 13th March to 30th March, 10.30am to 3pm.