Irish role in slavery is marked - The part played by people in Northern Ireland in the abolition and promotion of the slave trade is being marked.
By Arthur Strain
BBC News

The part played by people in Northern Ireland in the abolition and promotion of the slave trade is being marked.

In Belfast's Linenhall Library rare documents and artefacts have gone on display as part of the Hidden Connections exhibition marking the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the African slave trade.

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness opened the display on Tuesday, describing the trade as a "manifestation of racism and greed".

Mr McGuinness said he found it hard to believe that slavery was ever acceptable and that it was significant to the history of Ireland.

"There were many people who were involved, either as opponents of slavery or as traders with slave colonies," he said.

"We need to face the fact that many Irish people became rich on the proceeds of black slavery."

He said that today about 20m people remained in slavery or servitude and racism was still a problem for society.

Part of Belfast's commercial and industrial advances were linked to trade with the slave economies of the West Indies.

The founding president of the Belfast Chamber of Commerce, Waddell Cunningham made a fortune from slavery and tried to set up a slave company in Belfast.

He even had a plantation of his own in Dominica, which he renamed Belfast.

His attempt to establish a slave trading company in Belfast in 1786 is documented in one of the exhibits in a copy of the Belfast Mercury.

This was unsuccessful but the documents show that as well as opposing slavery, there were people from Ireland who went abroad and engaged in the slave trade.

One part of the display features a bill of sale of a child named William to Ulsterman Samuel Ferguson, the cost of the boy was $245.




BBC NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | Irish role in slavery is marked

Young people discuss the issues in UK parliament

Young people from all over the world recently joined with UK politicians in Westminster to discuss the legacy of slavery, as part of our Africa 2007 programme.

Preparing the debate

In the two days before the debate, fifty young adults from sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, the United States and the UK talked about the impact of the slave trade on our life today. They then joined the politicians in the historic Grand Committee Room of the House of Commons, to pass on the questions and perceptions from their intense discussions.

A timely and practical debate

To commemorate the two-hundredth anniversary of the Slave Trade Abolition Act, the debate considered how lessons from the past could be applied to our future, and could help to tackle today's forms of slavery (such as human trafficking and the recruitment of child soldiers).

Reparations for slavery

One Kenyan teenager received a lot of support from her fellow debaters when she asked: `Why is there no reparation available to the descendants of victims of the Atlantic slave trade in the way that there was for victims of the Holocaust?’ Senior politician, John Prescott, replied: ‘Certainly it is much easier to identify individuals who suffered during events in our lifetime, such as the Jews during the war against Germany, than it is in this case. But we have a responsibility because a great sin - a great evil trade - took place. What we have done in this bicentenary year is not only to remind our people of the terrible slave trade that went on, but to change our education legislation so that we can begin to tell the truth about what happened.'

How the debate came to be

It was during a recent visit to Ghana, to experience our pioneering Connecting Classrooms programme, that John Prescott invited young people to create the Westminster debate. After the debate he said, ‘The British Council Slavery Youth Debate is a tribute to the energy and vision of young people who want a better future for themselves and their children. I look forward to their recommendations for tackling modern-day forms of slavery to be presented to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) youth forum in Uganda this November’.

Making history

The debate was made historic by the attendance of the Paramount Chief of Elmina, Nana Kowdo Condua VI. This is the first time a paramount chief from Elmina has set foot on UK soil for more than a century. In March this year he lifted a 134 year ban on flying the Union Jack in the Elmina community to commemorate the passing of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act.

Slavery debate - World of difference - British Council - About us

In contrast to Blair's "statement of regret" the Australian Prime Minister, today apologised for the state's treatment of the Aboriginal People. The speech below, declares a national apology to all indigenous Australians



"Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

We reflect on their past mistreatment.

We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations – this blemished chapter in our nation’s history.

The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia’s history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.

We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.

We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.

For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.

And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.

We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.

For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.

We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.

A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.

A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.

A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.

A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.

A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia."

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lady Howells of St Davids for her clarity in setting out the issues of this debate in the context of the past but also the future. I firmly believe it is necessary to understand the past as well as the future, because we cannot establish a national consensus around the issues of Britishness and the multicultural society without understanding the history, culture and tradition of large numbers of our citizens. The essence of this debate is not just about the past; it is about the future, which should be informed by the past—the future of a multicultural Britain, of social cohesion in our communities and of a shared culture and mutual respect.

Perhaps at this point I should declare an interest. Perhaps I am the descendant of a slave. I say “perhaps” because slaves were non-beings to their owners, and any record of their births was obliterated; they would be given the name of slave owners, not their family name. So many thousands share my plight, not knowing their origin, who they are or from where they might have come. Within the Afro-Caribbean community, we face the unanswered question weekly when we see our grandchildren and our neighbours’ children. The unanswered question is simply, “Grandpa, who am I?” A silence, or a change of subject, is the only response. Why? It is because our line of history has been severed. Slave owners practised total enslavement—enslavement of the mind; enslavement of the culture; enslavement of dignity; enslavement of humanity; enslavement of the body and soul; above all, enslavement of the human spirit. They owned their slaves and they even took away their names.

It was the late Bob Marley who said in one of his songs that if you don’t know your history, you don’t know where you are coming from. That is perhaps the real inheritance of the slave trade. We do not know our history, we do not know who we are, and we do not know whence we came. However, we know that around the world, wherever the slave trade existed, it has left behind a legacy of poverty, destitution and confused identity in Africa, the Americas and the Caribbean.

What should be the role of the United Kingdom in tackling the legacy of the slave trade? How can we move on? The nation must start by fully acknowledging that some of its institutions and companies were involved in this heinous crime against humanity. We must start by saying sorry. If we cannot find it in our own humanity to say sorry to the slaves, let us at least say sorry for the trade in which we were engaged.

We must also give the victims of slavery a voice, a real voice. We have had a national celebration—and I mean celebration—of the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade, a law which was passed in this building. But is that really enough? Has there been sufficient focus on the victims of the slave trade and their descendants? I think not. We need an annual focus to remember the victims of the slave trade, an annual focus which will help the nation move on from the legacy of bitterness and ensure that it is transformed into a legacy of hope and forgiveness.

UNESCO has urged countries to make 23 August international day for the remembrance of the slave trade and its abolition. The night of 22 and 23 August 1791 in Santo Domingo saw the beginning of the uprising by slaves that was to play a crucial role in the abolition campaign. To choose this date for our act of remembrance would provide an annual focus on the courage of the slaves and not just the law which abolished the trade. While abolition was a milestone in ending the trade, we must never forget the suffering of the slaves themselves. An annual remembrance, while not bringing total closure to that dark side of our history, would nevertheless provide a reference point for our displaced generation up and down our communities.

A case has been made for reparation. As a nation we have a massive propensity to devalue the victim but comfort the perpetrator. The church and other slave-owners received compensation for losing their slave labour. Surely, it is morally right that the descendants of slaves deserve some consideration. However, we all recognise that the difficulties involved would be insurmountable, so we must find other imaginative and creative ways to atone for these crimes against humanity.

We have already stated that the teaching of slavery should be included in our curriculum, but the relevance of slavery must be taught throughout that curriculum and not just in key stage 3 and 4. It should be taught in our language, as part of our history of the Industrial Revolution, in our literature and arts, and much more. It has been suggested that a legacy fund should be created, and those institutions including the churches, the companies and the banks which benefited from the slave trade should contribute. The use of the legacy fund should be geared to educational and economic opportunities, and be driven by the needs of the countries involved in the slave trade; they were victims too.

Recently, the Guardian published a set of important speeches of the 20th century. I believe it missed one of the most important—certainly, an important one in the year in which we focus our minds on slavery and racism. The speech was made by Emperor Haile Selassie. When he addressed the United Nations in 1963, he said that,

“until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned ... until there are no longer first-class and second-class citizens of any nation ... until the colour of a man’s skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes ... until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race ... until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained.”

Let those words, echoed in this House, be our legacy from the slave trade.

Lord Morris of Handsworth
Lords Hansard
10 May 2007

U.S. House of Representatives apologizes for slavery, segregation.

Written by thedailyvoice.com


The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a historic resolution apologizing to African-Americans for slavery and segregation.

The nonbinding resolution, introduced by Rep. Steve Cohen, marks the first time a branch of the federal government has apologized for slavery.

Cohen is a white member of Congress who represents a majority black district in Memphis, Tennessee. He is facing a re-election challenge next week from a young black female lawyer, Nikki Tinker, and earlier this year he abandoned his effort to join the Congressional Black Caucus after some colleagues objected, according to The Guardian.



The resolution, which passed on a voice vote Tuesday evening, does not discuss reparations, which would provide financial compensation to descendants of slaves. It does express a "commitment to rectify the lingering consequences of the misdeeds committed against African-Americans under slavery and Jim Crow."

The text of the resolution "acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow" and specifically "apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States, for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow."

And the resolution also seems to acknowledge its own limitations, explaining that "an apology for centuries of brutal dehumanization and injustices cannot erase the past, but confession of the wrongs committed can speed racial healing and reconciliation and help Americans confront the ghosts of their past."

"Today represents a milestone in our nation's efforts to remedy the ills of our past," Rep. Carolyn C. Kilpatrick, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said in a statement. "I applaud Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN) and all the co-sponsors of H.Res. 194. We must now continue our efforts to free African Americans from the shackles of inferior education, inadequate health care, and lack of jobs."

Apologies Have Been Offered Before

On the presidential campaign, Senator John McCain said last October that he would support a federal apology for slavery, although some critics note that he failed to support the bill when it was discussed in February of this year.

For his part, Senator Barack Obama has said he has little interest in an official government apology for slavery or reparations for descendants of slaves, according to the Associated Press.

Asked if he would support reparations for Native Americans, Senator Obama said last week that "the more important thing for the U.S. government to do is not just offer words, but offer deeds." Although he reportedly noted that by "every socio-economic indicator Native Americans are doing worse" than other Americans, he said he was "more concerned about delivering a better life," according to a report on BlackAmericaWeb.com.

Obama added. "The best reparations we can provide are good schools in the inner city and jobs for people that are unemployed," Obama told an audience at the Unity convention in Chicago.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution apologizing to Native Americans, and in 1988, Congress passed and President Reagan signed a law apologizing to Japanese-Americans who were held in detention camps during World War II. The 60,000 detainees who were alive at the time each received $20,000 from the government, according to CNN.

Resolution Apologizing For Slavery and Segregation

The full text of the slavery measure, House Resolution 194, is as follows:

Mr. COHEN (for himself, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. WEXLER, Ms. KILPATRICK, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. LEE, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Ms. WATSON, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. CARSON, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. DAVIS of Alabama, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. HARE, Mr. KENNEDY, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. HODES, Mr. FILNER, Mr. HONDA, and Mr. KUCINICH) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

RESOLUTION

Apologizing for the enslavement and racial segregation of African-Americans.

Whereas millions of Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United States and the 13 American colonies from 1619 through 1865;

Whereas slavery in America resembled no other form of involuntary servitude known in history, as Africans were captured and sold at auction like inanimate objects or animals;

Whereas Africans forced into slavery were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized, and subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and heritage;

Whereas enslaved families were torn apart after having been sold separately from one another;

Whereas the system of slavery and the visceral racism against persons of African descent upon which it depended became entrenched in the Nation's social fabric;

Whereas slavery was not officially abolished until the passage of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865 after the end of the Civil War, which was fought over the slavery issue;

Whereas after emancipation from 246 years of slavery , African-Americans soon saw the fleeting political, social, and economic gains they made during Reconstruction eviscerated by virulent racism, lynchings, disenfranchisement, Black Codes, and racial segregation laws that imposed a rigid system of officially sanctioned racial segregation in virtually all areas of life;

Whereas the system of de jure racial segregation known as `Jim Crow,' which arose in certain parts of the Nation following the Civil War to create separate and unequal societies for whites and African-Americans, was a direct result of the racism against persons of African descent engendered by slavery ;

Whereas the system of Jim Crow laws officially existed into the 1960's--a century after the official end of slavery in America--until Congress took action to end it, but the vestiges of Jim Crow continue to this day;

Whereas African-Americans continue to suffer from the consequences of slavery and Jim Crow--long after both systems were formally abolished--through enormous damage and loss, both tangible and intangible, including the loss of human dignity and liberty, the frustration of careers and professional lives, and the long-term loss of income and opportunity;

Whereas the story of the enslavement and de jure segregation of African-Americans and the dehumanizing atrocities committed against them should not be purged from or minimized in the telling of American history;

Whereas on July 8, 2003, during a trip to Goree Island, Senegal, a former slave port, President George W. Bush acknowledged slavery's continuing legacy in American life and the need to confront that legacy when he stated that slavery `was . . . one of the greatest crimes of history . . . The racial bigotry fed by slavery did not end with slavery or with segregation. And many of the issues that still trouble America have roots in the bitter experience of other times. But however long the journey, our destiny is set: liberty and justice for all.';

Whereas President Bill Clinton also acknowledged the deep-seated problems caused by the continuing legacy of racism against African-Americans that began with slavery when he initiated a national dialogue about race;

Whereas a genuine apology is an important and necessary first step in the process of racial reconciliation;

Whereas an apology for centuries of brutal dehumanization and injustices cannot erase the past, but confession of the wrongs committed can speed racial healing and reconciliation and help Americans confront the ghosts of their past;

Whereas the legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia has recently taken the lead in adopting a resolution officially expressing appropriate remorse for slavery and other State legislatures are considering similar resolutions; and

Whereas it is important for this country, which legally recognized slavery through its Constitution and its laws, to make a formal apology for slavery and for its successor, Jim Crow, so that it can move forward and seek reconciliation, justice, and harmony for all of its citizens: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow;

(2) apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States, for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow; and

(3) expresses its commitment to rectify the lingering consequences of the misdeeds committed against African-Americans under slavery and Jim Crow and to stop the occurrence of human rights violations in the future.


Articles written by a Staff Reporter are unsigned reports from a member of the staff.



U.S. House of Representatives apologizes for slavery, segregation - The Daily Voice - Black America's Daily News Source














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And all of this means NOTHING.