Liverpool is one of the biggest port cities in the UK; it also has a very rich black cultural heritage rooted in the transatlantic slave trade of African people in the 18th century.
The Merseyside Maritime Museum, which is located by the Albert docks in Liverpool, is a pivotal centre for black historical development and awareness in the UK. The Maritime has an entire floor dedicated to the slave trade and provides information that is very hard to find in other places.
A London-based youth programme called Origin takes annual trips to the Maritime Museum as a tool of teaching young black men about their history. Origin member Daniel McKenzie Cossou, 15, believes the museum has a lot to offer. "I would recommend the museum because there is a lot of stuff there, before I went I thought I knew a lot, but when you go it’s a new experience and if you want to know about that stuff then the Maritime is a place to go."
Ascher Wilson, 14, another member of Origin, agrees: "I think people should visit Liverpool for the museum definitely, because of the information on offer about black history and slavery. It’s also better to go as a group rather than on your own because it makes the experience easier to take in."
Liverpool is renowned for its annual celebration of Black History month, and each year the grandeur of the celebrations increases. Historian and teacher Robin Walker believes this relates to the history of the city. "Liverpool’s rise as a city and becoming a great city was very much linked to the slave trade…There is a saying that every brick in Liverpool is stained with the blood of African slaves, someone said that about 100 years ago and they are probably right. Liverpool would not be the great city it is if it was not built on the slave trade."
Commenting on the Maritime exhibition Robin said: "It’s a very depressing place and the slave exhibits are very depressing, but people need to see them and think about them. I am pleased that it’s there and I’m glad we got the opportunity to see it ourselves."
The museum is known for its impact and Daniel recalls his visit: "It’s not like a regular museum where when you go in there is stuff on the walls, in the Maritime it’s like you are in the experience, like actually on a slave ship. There is one part that you walk in and it has sound simulations of the experience, it’s engaging and makes you want to have a look and be interested."
In regards to improving the Maritime, Ascher has some suggestions: "I think you should be able to stay there over night to make the experience even more powerful and it should be more interactive with fun things for children. For our age (teenagers) it was OK, but for little children it needed more."
He adds, "It should be more compulsory like in schools, because before this visit I did not know this stuff…it won’t solve everything, but it can help."
The City of Liverpool is striving to educate everybody about a crucial part of its history. As part of festivities for Black History Month open to all cultures, knowledge is shared about the slave trade to a wider audience.
The City Council hopes to encourage other councils to follow Liverpool’s lead and make August 23 a day of national slavery remembrance. This positive attitude towards Black History month contributed to Liverpool being nominated for the 2008 Cultural City of the year award.
Historian Robin had some more ideas: "Liverpool needs to make some documentaries, particularly about Liverpool and its real history. How the city became great and the role of black people within that. That would really be a good start. Particularly considering it’s said that at least 45% of the ships involved with the slave trade by the end of the 18th century passed through Liverpool."
He feels it is important that both the history of slavery and the positive contribution black people have made to history should be documented and endorsed by organisations such as the Maritime and the Liverpool Council. He added:
"Children need to know that the ancient Egyptians were black and that black people in west Africa built great empires like Songhay which had universities, two storey houses with inside toilets. They also need to know black people discovered America in 1311, which is 181 years before Christopher Columbus."
In this way ultimately people will leave the museum and the city with a deeper perspective that is often lacking in the modern world, as underlined by Colin Folkes, a third member of Origin.
Recalling the highlight of his visit, he said: "My highlight of the museum was near the end where you heard slaves singing, they were singing for hope and they sounded a lot like people do in church now. Before I thought that there is no point me finding out, but when I did find out about things I found out about more than I expected."
He adds: "I think it’s important to know your heritage because it’s who you are, it’s your identity, and the Maritime provides information on a part of what makes me."
This article was produced by Emma Dennis-Edwards (16) and Rheaz Liburd (16) www.childrens-express.org
If you want to find out more about the slave trade in Liverpool follow this trail of locations in the city's dockland area developed by National Museums Liverpool
Visit our City Heritage Guides for more
trails around and about Liverpool
