City Hall marks UNESCO’s International Day for the Remembrance of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its Abolition

City Hall last night hosted the Mayor of London’s annual ceremony to mark the UNESCO Day for Remembering the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its Abolition.

Now in its ninth year, the commemoration brought together Londoners, community leaders and artists to reflect on the impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and celebrate the resilience of the capital’s African and Caribbean heritage communities.

This year’s theme, ‘Justice in Action: Shaping Future Narratives, Joy as an Act of Resistance’, focused on turning reflection into action, while celebrating joy as a form of resistance and amplifying the voices and histories of Londoners whose ancestors were affected by the slave trade.

The ceremony was chaired by Zara Chambers, from the Violent Reduction Unit (VRU) and Aisha Sanusi, co-founder and CEO of the African Caribbean Education Network. The programme featured an opening address by Professor Matthew J. Smith, Professor of Caribbean History and Director of the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery at University College London, performances by the London African Gospel Choir, a poem by educator and writer Amma Amofaah-Ofosu, and affirmations read by the London Youth Assembly, followed by a minute’s silence. There were speeches by Deputy Mayor for Communities and Social Justice, Dr Debbie Weekes-Bernard and Andrew Boff AM, Chair of the London Assembly, with a message from The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

Last year, Sadiq became the first ever Mayor of London to lead a trade mission to Africa. During the Mayor’s trip, he visited Osu Castle in Ghana, where he saw the ‘door of no return’ through which tens of thousands of enslaved people passed as they were forced onto ships across the Atlantic. He also announced the first of a global network of memorials to victims of Transatlantic Slavery in Ghana, and continues to support the creation of London’s first permanent memorial to the victims of transatlantic slavery, The Wake by Khaleb Brooks, at West India Quay in the Docklands.

Deputy Mayor for Communities & Social Justice, Dr Debbie Weekes-Bernard, said: “This annual ceremony is an important opportunity to remember and honour the millions of men, women and children whose lives were brutally impacted by the transatlantic slave trade. It is a chance to honour those who resisted and fought for justice and remember its long-lasting impact. It is an uncomfortable truth that London played a key role in the slave trade, and we cannot build a fairer future unless we first have an honest reading of our past. That is why we are delivering the capital’s first permanent memorial to the victims of transatlantic slavery, and why we continue our work to stamp out racism, as we build a better, fairer London for everyone.”