05 November 2019 -- The registered charity - African and Caribbean Support Organisation of Northern Ireland (ACSONI) is commemorating 400 years since the start of the transatlantic slave trade with a series of events that explore Belfast’s links to this seminal period of history.
The Links and Legacy Project is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and consists of a series of exhibitions, commemorations and seminars across Belfast. It aims to highlight the injustices associated with the largest genocide and forced relocation of people in world history, and to promote conversation about its lasting impact.
Joseph Ricketts, Manager of ACSONI, said: ‘Inspired by the UN designated International Decade for People of African Descent, we wanted to tell the story of a strong people who survived one of the most oppressive periods in history, and consider what this means for their learning and integration here in Northern Ireland. It is of relevance for everyone because it is by recalling the past that we can prevent the same mistakes from happening in the future.’
Dr Christopher Stange, Consul General of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to Northern Ireland said: ‘We encourage these seminars to engage civil society to discuss and better understand this very dark period of colonial history. Both the genocide of our indigenous people and slavery in the Caribbean have historically resulted in an underdevelopment, social and economic considerations for developing small island states.’
The project’s Exodus exhibition displays details of dozens of slave owners from Northern Ireland who had plantations across the Caribbean. The exhibition also charts the contribution to the anti slavery movement in Belfast, spearheaded by people like Thomas McCabe and Mary Ann McCracken, who helped raise awareness of the atrocities associated with the slave trade. The exhibition can be viewed in its second phase, entitled ‘Journey’, at Titanic Belfast on 8-9 November.
The Links and Legacy series of events runs until mid November, culminating in a grand cultural heritage showcase at Titanic Belfast on 9 November, and closing with a religious service in St Anne’s Cathedral on 17 November. A conference at University College Stranmillis on 7 November will explore hidden connections with the slave trade and its legacies.
The series of events form part of the United Nations designated International Decade for People of African Descent, which aims to promote respect, protection and fulfilment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for people of African descent.
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