Bristol Legacy Foundation Visits International Slavery Museum in Liverpool
On the 27th of March, the Bristol Legacy Foundation (BLF) Chair, Deputy Mayor Councillor Asher Craig, BLF Vice-Chair, Marti Burgess and BLF Project Coordinator, Morayo Omogbenigun were invited to the International Slavery Museum (ISM) by the Director, Michelle Charters. Initially starting out as a Teams call on the 5th of February put together by John Dower, a member of the Trevelyan family (Heirs of Slavery) featuring representatives from the BLF, ISM, National Museums Liverpool and The World Reimagined (TWR), John Dower introduced members of the call to the La Coque Nomade initiative in Nantes, France. From the mid-17th century to the mid-19th century, 43% of slave expeditions in France left from Nantes (Nantes History Museum, 2024).
Left to right: Chair of the Partnerships, Investment and Resources Task Group (Marti Burgess) and BLF Chair (Deputy Mayor Councillor Asher Craig) meet colleagues at the International Slavery Museum, Liverpool.
On the day, the group were joined by Pierre Guillon De Prince, Dieudonné Boutrin and Olivier Pascal-Mousselard from La Coque Nomade in Nantes, France. The day was filmed by Wandrille Lanos, a filmmaker from France. The BLF were welcomed by Director of the ISM, Michelle Charters alongside fellow National Museums Liverpool (NML) colleagues including Laura Pye (NML Director), Claire Mc Colgan CBE (Director of Culture, Liverpool City Centre), and Janet Dugdale (NML Executive Director of Museums and Participation). The team from the ISM and NML provided an overview of the Waterfront Transformation Project, which aims to link storytelling, heritage, community and hospitality to revitalise the area between the Royal Albert Dock and Mann Island. As part of this, the International Slavery Museum will be transformed from a single floor gallery space into a prominent museum with its own front door, which will be co produced with local African Heritage communities, the Liverpool Black History Group and the ISM Community Champions. Afterwards, BLF Chair Deputy Mayor Cllr Craig, presented on the history of the BLF, our recent launch and plans for the upcoming memorial.
Presentations by National Museums Liverpool, the International Slavery Museum and the Bristol Legacy Foundation.
Following Cllr Craig’s presentation, John Dower from the Heirs of Slavery introduced their organisation, which is a coalition of families who financially benefited from the Transatlantic Trafficking of Enslaved Africans (TTEA) aiming to coordinate with reparatory justice practitioners. Representatives from Nantes spoke about La Coque Nomade, which focuses on education around the role of Nantes in the TTEA. Lastly, Co-founder of TWR, Michelle Gayle, presented on the impact of the collection of globes which featured in 7 cities around the UK, visited by over 3 million people.
A tour of the International Slavery Museum by Director, Michelle Charters followed by a tour of Liverpool Town Hall by Lord Deputy Mayor Richard Kemp CBE
After lunch, the group was led on a tour by Michelle Charters and Lois South from the ISM Learning and Participation team. To end the day, the group was given a tour of Liverpool Town Hall by the Lord Deputy Mayor of Liverpool, Richard Kemp CBE.
By engaging with similar organisations within the UK and internationally, the BLF plans to strengthen links with other cities affected by the TTEA. Moreover, there was knowledge exchange of good practice within reparatory justice organisations, which will be invaluable to the BLF as we embark on the formal process of acquiring the B Bond Warehouse and continue the creation of a memorial by the Cascade Steps led by our Public Art Commissioner, Bolanle Tajudeen.
Bibliography
Nantes History Museum (2024) Nantes, the slave trade and slavery, Memorial to the abolition of slavery - Nantes (France). Available at: https://memorial.nantes.fr/en/nantes-the-slave-trade-and-slavery/ (Accessed: 28 March 2024).