Can a City be Responsible for its Past?

E.Q: How can I show my understanding of the impact of

slavery through persuasive writing?

The Apology

• When, in 1999, Liverpool made a formal apology for the city’s role in the slave trade it sparked a storm of controversy.

• Why?

Cllr Myrna Juarez

• The apology followed a motion put forward by Cllr Myrna Juarez who called for the city to express its remorse for the effects the slave trade had on millions of people worldwide.

The City Council

• A special meeting of the city council acknowledged Liverpool's past in the slave trade

• The apology was controversial with a group of campaigners against racism saying the move was too little, too late.

• They were angry that the meeting was being held in the Town Hall where there are images of black slaves within the plasterwork of the building.

The City Council

• A council spokesperson at the time said; “We can’t hide our history, it is built into the foundations of many institutions and buildings.

• “What we can do is apologise. This is what we are doing, offering our unreserved remorse for the history of slave trading.”

The Apology

• Liverpool apologised in 1999 for its prominent role in the 'triangular trade' which saw ships sail to West Africa, ship slaves to the Caribbean and return laden with sugar.

• The radical Liberal prime minister William Gladstone was the son of a major slave plantation owner and much of the centre's noble architecture was built with profits from the trade.

• The date, which Liverpool has marked every year since the apology, commemorates an uprising of enslaved Africans on the island of Saint Domingue, modern-day Haiti, in 1791.

On the next slide…

…is an extract from the transcript of the apology made by Liverpool

Let’s take a look and see if we can ‘pick out’ the key points

It would be even better if you could select quotations…

Is it time for us?

• http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/may/07/ameliahill.theobserver

• Let’s make some notes whilst reading through the article together

The Assessment

• Write a formal letter in which you apologise for Bristol’s involvement in the slave trade. Your letter should be persuasive and convince the reader that this should happen

OR

• Schools have decided to remove the study of slavery from the curriculum. They believe the topic is too controversial and should only be studied by students in years 10 and up. Write a formal letter in which you persuade the reader that all students should be able to study slavery