Sadiq Khan pledges London memorial to remember victims of trans-Atlantic slave trade

The Mayor of London said the historic memorial is "creating a better and fairer London for all"

The Mayor of London has announced a memorial that will remember Black people who lost their lives during the slave trade (Picture: Getty)

THE MAYOR of London has pledged to be build a memorial in the capital that will honour the millions of enslaved Black people who lost their lives during the trans-Atlantic slave trade and recognise the capital’s part in the horrific trading of human lives.

The historic commemoration will be funded by up to £500,000 and the announcement comes just before the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The memorial is understood to be the first of its scale and profile that will reflect the experiences and resistance of enslaved Black people transported from Africa and taken to forcibly work on colonies in the Caribbean.

Despite its abolition by the British in 1834, Sadiq Khan said that legacy of Britain’s role in the slave trade is still felt today by generations of communities across the country and in London.

He said: “…We do not have a dedicated memorial in our capital to honour the millions of enslaved people who suffered and died as a result of this barbaric practice.

“It is vital that our public spaces reflect the heritage of our great city – in all its diversity and complexity. This memorial will help commemorate the victims of a dark, yet formative chapter of our history.

“I want everyone to be able to take pride in our public spaces and by being candid about our history, and its enduring legacy, we are creating a better and fairer London for all.” 

Mr Khan set up the  Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm to better reflect the diversity and history of London while many parts of the capital still harbour aspects from Victorian Britain such as street names. 

The slavery memorial will be placed in West India Quay in London Docklands which is where numerous warehouses were built to receive the brutal equipment used on enslaved Black people – they are the only surviving buildings of its times in the capital. 

West India Quay is also home to the Museum of London Docklands, whose London, Sugar and Slavery gallery includes an evolving exhibition dedicated to the history and legacies of the city’s involvement in the slave trade.

HORROR: Shackles used to tether enslaved Africans on display at the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool. (Pic: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

London and parts of the UK have frequent memorials about abolition and the power and wealth of Britain’s role in the slavery, including slave trader Tobias Rustat whose statue stands outside of Jesus College at the University of Cambridge and Edward Colston whose memorial was toppled at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. 

The memorial announced by the Mayor of London will be a chance to memorialise the millions of African people taken from their homeland and who were enslaved and abused due to slavery as well as the Black communities that are still impacted.

Historian and BAFTA award-winning broadcaster, Professor David Olusoga, said: “The profits from the trade in enslaved people and from their exploitation on the plantations of the Americas helped build London’s wealth. Today London is home to over a third of a million people who are descended from those enslaved people. This is a shared history and it’s right that all Londoners have a memorial through which to better remember the victims of slavery in the slave trade.”

Afua Hirsch, a critically-acclaimed author and broadcaster, said: “This history haunts us all the more for having been forced into the shadows. May this be the first of many, many more steps towards making it visible, seen and understood.”

The memorial will be located near the Museum of London Docklands and will be accompanied by a number of ‘satellite sites’ that will connect with different stories of slavery across the capital that will bring the weight of slavery’s dark history and the legacy of the trade throughout the capital, the UK and the world, to life. 

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3 Comments

  1. | Chaka Artwell

    In reference to the Asian-heritage Mayor of London’s idea for a memorial to remember victims of England’s trans-Atlantic African- slave Trade, Ms Afua Hirsch, a critically-acclaimed author, and broadcaster, said:
    “This history haunts us all the more for having been forced into the shadows.

    May this be the first of many, many more steps towards making it (England’s transatlantic African-Slave trade) visible, seen and understood.”

    Ms Hirsh is completely wrong; and misguided by her Left-wing, Marxist inspired, political reasoning.

    This type of mental reasoning by Ms Hirsh, whereby African-Caribbean heritage people expect English society to guide us, as if we are children, is dangerous, and psychologically, and culturally damaging and shameful.

    England’s African-Caribbean men; women and youth, need to accept responsibility for our failure to honour and remember our African-ancestors, and stop blaming our Anglo-Saxon-heritage peers, for our failure to honour our African-ancestors.

    England’s African-Caribbean people are responsible for our failure to hold a national day to honour the injustice our African-ancestors endured for two hundred years.

    English Society, or English people, or English institutions, have made no effort, or policy to prevent England’s hundreds of thousands of descendants of African-Caribbean Slaves of the English Empire from honouring our slave ancestors.

    There has been absolutely no call, impetus, or collective demand from England’s African-Caribbean men; women and youth, to honour our Slave ancestors as a community collective; or to solicit Parliament for a national remembrance, in the seventy years we have overwhelmingly given our political alliance to the Labour Party.

    The infantile state of England’s African-Caribbean men; women and youth are the reasons why African-Caribbean heritage people, as a collective race of people; with a shared history, have made precious little effort to create our own remembrance for the savage and inhuman methods used against our African-ancestors by the English, for two hundred years.

    England is a land of monuments.

    Surely England’s African-Caribbean heritage people do not require to been told; or instructed by the English, of the great importance of honouring our African-Slave ancestors?

    Voice readers, let the truth be printed, we, African-Caribbean heritage people were reduced to slavery for two hundred years by the English; and today in 2023, England’s African-Caribbean heritage people have risen little from the mental state of slavery, our African ancestors were reduced by the English.

    Sir Tony Blair’s “anti-racist” Labour Party was in office for 13 years.

    Despite over 60 percent of African-Caribbean people voting for Labour; and Labour-led Local Authority in London and other English cities.

    In exchange for African-Caribbean people’s great fealty to the Labour Party, African-Caribbean people have not demand that a national honouring of our African-Slave ancestors become part of Labour’s manifesto, in exchange for our vote.

    African-Caribbean people have allowed the Labour Party, the Party which claims to care about African-Caribbean people, to treat us as children.

    The Labour Party has been at the forefront in frustrating all attempts of the English Parliament to recognise and honour the source of England’s African-slave wealth.

    The Labour Party’s 13-year reign has been at the forefront of harming England’s Caribbean-heritage people, and family structure with their introduction of visa for Caribbean people in 2003.

    African-Caribbean people’s child-like attachment to the Far-Left Labour Party; especially by African-heritage commentators: Elected Parliamentarians, and Peers, has caused the political infantile thinking and reasoning of England’s African-Caribbean people.

    England’s African-Caribbean men; women and youth desperately require authentic African-Caribbean political thinking, and adult cultural development.

    Reply

  2. | Paul

    Today – Pakistan currently has over 2 million slaves, ranked 3rd country in the world, is Khan addressing that or the fact that there are now at least 40 million living slaves worldwide, yes including Africans enslaved by Africans (so today, before and during trans-atlantic trade)?
    History – Portugal,France,Spain,Dutch all involved in the European slave trade, bought from African enslavers. Even William the Bastard enslaved 10% of England after his visit, how far back, Romans?
    In First Place we have the Arabs & Muslims who enslaved, raped & castrated Africans for over 1000 years – I’ve not heard this mentioned by any UK news channel or politician, why?
    In short humans are & were barbaric, for personal / financial gain, irrespective of race or religion, how many people will understand this point today with the racist & ignorant propaganda constantly in the media?
    Who then fought for decades against other countries, including Africa, to end slavery? Who thinks this current trend will end well?

    Reply

  3. | Vic

    Here here, the reply above from Paul. Khans memorial money would be better spent on helping Londons poorer people who are struggling today and not wasted on memorials that help nobody. He needs to read more history about how the UK tried to end slavery.

    Reply

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