Foreword

Professor the Baroness Young of Hornsey

In 2007, the passing of the act that abolished the British slave trade will be commemorated in a wide variety of ways across the United Kingdom and internationally. Numerous organizations from arts groups to churches are working on, for example, the political and social legacy of the slave trade, the work of prominent abolitionists such as Olaudah Equiano and William Wilberforce, the generation of wealth through the slave trade in cities such as Bristol, Liverpool, Birmingham, Lancaster and London. Agencies and organizations such as English Heritage and the Victoria and Albert Museum are taking a fresh look at the objects in their care, stimulated at least in part by the activities and debates that will be taking place in the commemorative year.

Across the country signs of empire are inscribed on the city and landscape. The Blackboy Lanes, Jamaica Streets, Pretoria Avenues, West India Quays and so on give an indication of the extent to which Britain has been shaped by and is inextricably linked to its colonial history. Much of that history remains hidden from public view in as much as its meaning is rarely discussed-unless there is a contentious move by a local authority or a community based organization to have a street or public house renamed. By and large, unless there is a personal, intellectual or emotional investment in developing that understanding it seems most people are content to go no further than mild curiosity about how and why their environment has been named with an eye on centuries old historical connexions.

The commemorative events and activities planned for the 200th anniversary of the passing of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act have the potential to alert people to those signs of history that surround them. The planned memorials; the artists' commissions; the exhibitions, conferences and literature; the media coverage-all these acts of commemoration have the potential to make a significant impact on the ways in which we think about Britain and the long period of transatlantic enslavement.

No doubt some of this work will be contentious and make for impassioned debate-that is part of the point and we should not shy away from it even though it might prove to be uncomfortable for many of us. Even for organizations whose job it is to present objects from the past, the bicentenary poses a substantial set of challenges. Historical material relating to African-and indeed Asian, Jewish and Irish peoples and people with disabilities-which are deemed offensive by today's standards abound in our museums and archives. How is that material to be handled without distorting either the historical truth or the reality of attitudes to those communities? Such images and objects can pose a real threat to a community's sense of itself, especially if it feels it is under siege. I hope that far from trying to avoid the potential difficulties, the political, community, cultural, educational sectors will join together to embrace the challenge. We need to move towards a better understanding of how history is shaped, its impact on, and legacy in contemporary life, and the difference we can make for the future, especially in relation to issues of 'race', ethnicity and identity. That is, perhaps, a heavy burden for the bicentenary to carry but it seems to me to be implicit in the overall project whether we wish to acknowledge it or not.

The objects, artefacts and documents that are to be exhibited in Westminster Hall focus on the role of parliament in the struggle to end the slave trade. Although it concentrates on parliamentary involvement, this is not a story exclusively about the members of the house of commons and the house of lords. The title of the exhibition, The British Slave Trade: Abolition, Parliament and People makes this point clear and also suggests some of the layers of complexity involved in such a project. There are many different ways of constructing the unfolding of events, the list of key actors and significant moments in this tragic narrative: no single display or volume can capture all the nuances. In particular, the role of parliament itself...