Editorial by Heather Haworth

This month’s topic is opening an old, but modern day wound….. Slavery. This year we are celebrating the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade act which became law on the 25^th March 1807. Before you browse through the rest of this issues pages take time out to read about the men and women whose efforts helped to highlight the terrible plight of the slaves, then ponder on how you can emulate them and lift the curse of modern day slavery.

THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN ABOLITION         by Sharon Platt-McDonald

FEATURE 

Lest We Forget                               by Don W. McFarlane

As with the Holocaust, the Slave Trade is a blot on history’s landscape that we must never forget. One could be forgiven for thinking that too much is being made of the 200th anniversary of the Act to abolish the Slave Trade, when the history of the world is littered with the enslavement of people in different times and places. The enslavement of the Hebrews by the Egyptians readily springs to mind as an example of such historical realities. Additionally, ‘Slavery was deeply embedded in the ancient Near-eastern and Greco-Roman worlds. . .’ (Carl Saunders, ‘The Bible in the American Slavery Debates: Text and Interpretation,’ The Bible in Transition – a Forum for Change in the Church and Culture, Spring 2007).

However, the transatlantic Slave Trade, with its attendant dehumanising practices, stands alongside the Holocaust as an indelible stain on modern history and a scar on mankind. It is right, then, that the bicentenary of the Act to abolish the Slave Trade be celebrated enthusiastically and extensively.

Olaudah Equiano, a slave who had purchased his freedom and who played a major role in the abolition of the Slave Trade, gives a graphic description in his autobiography of his trip from Nigeria to Barbados: ‘The closeness of the place, and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us. This produced copious perspirations, so that the air soon became unfit for respiration, from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died, thus falling victims to the improvident avarice, as I may call it, of their purchasers. This wretched situation was again aggravated by the galling of the chains, now become insupportable; and the filth of the necessary tubs, into which the children often fell, and were almost suffocated. The groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable.’ The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African, London, 1789, from chapter 2.

As in the case of the Holocaust, we now look back and ask: How could this have happened? How could it have been allowed? These two questions are even more pertinent when one remembers that the Slave Trade was initiated and maintained by Christian nations whose missionaries were to ‘preach’ to the world the freedom that the Gospel engenders. The Church of England itself owned slaves in the West Indies, who were freed in 1833. Many Christians ‘ . . . believed that the Bible legitimated both the institution and the practice of slavery. . . . They quoted extensively from the Old and New Testaments, they argued lucidly and convincingly, and they were able to integrate scriptural teaching into a coherent system.’ (Carl Saunders, ‘The Bible in the American Slavery Debates: Text and Interpretation,’ The Bible in Transition – a Forum for Change in the Church and Culture, Spring 2007.)

While it is a matter of regret that many of those who were deeply involved with the Slave Trade were Christians, it is encouraging to know that those who worked tirelessly for its abolition were also Christians. The latter were Christians who understood the meaning of the brotherhood of all men and the Fatherhood of God. Wilberforce, Clarkson, Equiano, Sharp, eventually Newton, and others realised that slavery was incompatible with the most basic Christian principle – love for God and love for our fellow men. They set about working for its abolition as if their very lives depended on it.

It is also heart-warming to know that the pioneers of the Seventh-day Adventist Church understood the injustices that resulted from the enslavement of Africans and took steps to end it. Joseph Bates, the former sea captain who had so much to do with Adventists accepting the Sabbath, helped found the Abolitionist Society in his home town. (Joseph Bates, The Autobiography of Elder Joseph Bates (1868), pp. 232, 233, 236- 238.)

Ellen White said that Adventists should not obey the law which required escaped slaves to be returned to their masters and openly advocated disobeying Federal statutes with regard to the unjust treatment of slaves. (Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 202)

As we celebrate the abolition of the Slave Trade, is important not to forget: The Crimes of ‘Christians’ • That there is potential for evil in the heart of every person. The unconverted heart of even those who claim to be Christians is capable of planning andexecuting unbridled evil.

While we berate others for unbelievable acts of violence and crimes against humanity, we must not forget the pages of history littered with the crimes of ‘Christians.’

 Slavery in Today’s World

• That slavery is still prevalent in the world today. It is estimated that there are at least 12 million people worldwide who are working as slaves. They are forced to work against their will and are bought and sold as if they were mere chattels. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, in his Online Reflection – Slavery Still with us, 14 March 2007, says that the instinct to enslave others is a contemporary reality: ‘The instinct to enslave is still very much present in the modern world: it’s as if slavery is a kind of compulsion for human societies, people go back again and again to treating people as objects, as possessions, and I don’t think we can simply sit back and say “it’s a thing of the past.”’ One of the most meaningful ways in which the United Kingdom and other developed countries can mark the 200^th anniversary of the Act to abolish the Slave Trade is to seek to bring an end to present-day slavery.

 An Under-class in the UK

• That economic slavery is a reality in sophisticated Western society today. To a large degree, capitalism is sustained by having a large work-force that is poorly paid. The experience of some recently-arrived workers from Eastern Europe illustrates this point clearly. They left their countries with promises of being paid the minimum wage here in the UK and being given accommodation at a fairly cheap rate. When they arrived, they found working conditions that were inhumane and degrading, were paid much less than they had been promised and were given filthy accommodation for which they had to pay nearly twice as much as they had initially been told. Then we cannot forget that many major firms, some of which are UK-based, rely on people working in the most appalling conditions overseas and being paid abominable wages. Complex sub-contracting and supply chains, managed by agents elsewhere, often obscure the involvement of the major firms.

Exploitation

• The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, in an article entitled, ‘Modern Slavery in the United Kingdom,’ says that there are three essential elements of an exploitative relationship which constitute slavery: ‘severe economic exploitation, the lack of a human rights framework; and control of one person over another by the prospect or reality of violence.’ The article goes on to say:

‘Many relationships of enslavement do not involve actual physical violence but the

nature of the relationship – appalling working and housing conditions, the  withdrawal of passports or ID documents, deceit and abuse of power, the use of physical intimidation – renders the possibility of flight remote. There is much

evidence that those who do protest about such conditions may be beaten, abused, raped, deported or even killed.’ (February 2007 - Ref 2035)

 Oneness in Christ

• That the denial to others of the rights we enjoy can be seen as a form of enslavement. Whether that denial is based on educational, economic, cultural or gender differences, it is most likely the perpetration of injustice. The Bible is quite clear about our equality and oneness in Christ, whatever our gender, social position, or ethnic background: ‘For all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.’ (Galatians 3:27- 29, NIV.)

The Enslavement of Sin

• That the severest enslavement of all is that caused by sin, which has condemned us all to death. Speaking of this enslavement, the apostle Paul says, ‘We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. . . . What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.’ (Romans 7:14, 15, 24, 25, NIV.) If the story ended here, we would be without hope. However, the apostle goes on to say, ‘Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.’ (Romans 8:1, NIV.)

Jesus is Emancipator Supreme. His death on Calvary paid the purchase price for our freedom and those who accept his offer of salvation stand in the liberty that his righteousness provides and look forward to his return to earth to establish a kingdom free of sin and its consequences. Like John, I feel inspired to shout, ‘“Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”’

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ISSUES  

Abolition and Legacy of The Transatlantic   Slave Trade

by Beulah A. Plunkett

 Slavery resulting from the transatlantic Slave Trade covered the 300 year period from the1560s through to the 1860s. My great, great grandfather and my great grandfather were enslaved Africans. My father knew his grandfather and knew of his great grandfather, so these people were real family. As I reflected on this reality, I asked the question: How did my great, great grandfather and my great grandfather cope with slavery back then, and what part did they play in its abolition? They survived slavery, because I am here, but how did they do that? It is important to know your history and to learn how with love, determination, altruism and courage others before you and, consequently you, can ‘make a way out of no way’ through God’s love.

I met William Wilberforce’s great, great granddaughter at the service for the  commemoration of the 1807 Act to Abolish Slavery, which was held on 27 March 2007 at Westminster Abbey. She sat next to me during the service, and proudly introduced herself at the end. I could not tell her who my great, great grandfather was as precisely as she could tell me about hers.

Historians have tried to blot out the records of slavery and so the mass of the population, both black and white, are only just reading about it in 2007. Some of us are shocked, some are in disbelief or just want it to go away. But no matter how painful it is to look at the truth, and slavery is a true story, it must not be brushed aside; it is a reality that must be acknowledged so that its legacy can be addressed. The crucifixion of Christ must not be forgotten, as painful as it is to reflect on that terrible time. Christ rose again and thus we who believe in him are saved. Christ’s sacrifice teaches us to forgive and to love one another, even those who hurt us, so, as we reflect on the reality of slavery, we forgive.

There follows a very brief synopsis of the contributions enslaved Africans made to the abolition of the transatlantic Slave Trade. Olaudah Equiano, Sojourner Truth and Sam Sharpe, are just three of the thousands of Africans who contributed to the abolition of the Slave Trade. Because of racist attitudes today, their contributions are not as readily acknowledged as those of Wilberforce and Clarkson. I will also give a brief account of the social and psychological legacy of slavery. Sadly, there are many other forms of  slavery, but my focus is on the European enslavement of Africans, as this year marks the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade in British-owned territories in 1807. That Act, in turn, heralded the Abolition of Slavery in British territories in 1833.

Dates and Figures

The enslavement of Africans by the English started with the first English slaving expedition by Sir John Hawkins in 1562. When slavery was abolished in 1833, £20 million was voted as compensation to slave owners for loss of property. Nothing at all was for the enslaved Africans. It is estimated that between 9 and 12 million Africans were transported to the Americas, and an equal number to the Caribbean and other places by European slavers between 1560 and 1807. There are no accurate figures for the myriad numbers smuggled across the Atlantic to avoid regulations, and no accurate records of those born into slavery.

The contributions of Africans to the abolition of their enslavement:-

From the onset of slavery, millions of Africans gave their lives to end their individual slavery by attempting to run away. That was their attempt at ending slavery, and we must remember them. Then there were those who, as time went by, sought ways to end slavery, one of the world’s greatest evils, by working with others, both black and white.

Olaudah Equiano, or, Gustavus Vassa, the African Olaudah Equiano, 1745 – 1797, is well-known for his contribution to the abolition of the Slave Trade. Olaudah Equiano was born in Essaka, an Igbo village, in 1745. His father was one of the province’s elders. When he was ten, Equiano was kidnapped and sold to slave-traders; he was then transported to Barbados. After a two-week stay in the West Indies, Equiano was sent to the English colony of Virginia. He was later purchased by Captain Henry Pascal, a British naval officer. Equiano saved whatever money he could, and in 1766 purchased his freedom. Then, having moved to England, he worked closely with Granville Sharp and Thomas Clarkson in the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade. In a letter written by Equiano to Gordon Turnbull, who in 1788 had published his book on slavery entitled Apology for Negro Slavery, Equiano, made this statement and asked this question: ‘To kidnap our fellow creatures, however they may differ in complexion, to degrade them into beasts of burthen, to deny them every right but those, and scarcely those we allow to a horse, to keep them in perpetual servitude, is a crime as unjustifiable as it is cruel; but to avow and to defend this infamous traffic required the ability and the modesty of you and Mr. Tobin. Can any man be a Christian who asserts that one part of the human race were ordained to be in perpetual bondage to another?’ In 1792 Equiano married Susan Cullen of Ely. The couple had two children, Anna Maria and Johanna. However, Anna Maria died when she was only four years old. Olaudah Equiano died on 31 March 1797, aged only 52.

Sojourner Truth - American abolitionist and women’s rights activist, born into slavery.

Born in 1797 in Hurley, New York, Sojourner died on 26 November 1883 in Battle Creek, Michigan. Originally named Isabella Baumfree, in 1843 she was inspired by the Millerites, a religious group who believed the world would end that year, to take her new identity. She changed her name to Sojourner Truth and became an itinerant evangelist. After the Great Disappointment in October 1844, Truth became a member of the Northampton Association, a utopian community led by George Benson. The Association’s reformist-minded members (including Frederick Douglas and William Lloyd Garrison) exposed Sojourner Truth to liberal concepts such as abolitionism and feminism. In a speech at a women’s rights convention in Akron, Ohio in 1851, Truth proclaimed, ‘I could work as much and eat as much as a man . . . and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen ‘em most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman?’ With this statement Sojourner demanded that white feminists broaden their vision to include the suffering and strength of black, enslaved and poor women in the category of woman and in the fight for equal rights. In 1865, following the Civil War, slavery was finally abolished in United States territories.

Sam Sharpe- Samuel ‘Sam’ Sharpe was an African who had been enslaved

Sam Sharpe taught himself to read and write and, because of his education, he became highly respected by other slaves and was well-known as a preacher and leader. Sharpe also became a deacon in the Burchell Baptist church in Montego Bay, Jamaica. As he traveled to different estates in the St James parish, he would educate the slaves about Christianity and freedom. In a mistaken belief that emancipation had already been granted by the 1807 Abolition of Slavery Act, Sharpe organised a peaceful strike across many estates in western Jamaica. ‘The Christmas Rebellion’ began on 25 December 1831 at the Kensington Estate, but was halted within two weeks and approximately 300 slaves, including Sharpe, were hanged. The Rebellion caused two detailed Parliamentary  inquiries, which contributed to the 1833 Abolition of Slavery across the British Empire. In 1975, the government of independent Jamaica proclaimed Sharpe a national hero with the title Rt Excellent Samuel Sharpe.

The long-term effects of the slave trade in contemporary British Society

The traumatic experiences of slavery still affect the lives of those Africans whose families were enslaved, even now. (DeGruy Leary, 2005). The way in which slave owners tortured and dehumanised Africans has left them with psychological scars that have been passed down through generations in the form of low self esteem, fractured families, a fragmented culture, and the absence of a vernacular language. Africans had to abandon their languages, the vestiges of their cultures and even their names in the process of enslavement. Racism was the conduit by which this was justified and perpetuated. Racism now ensures that many freed Africans still find no place of comfort. Racism is one of the most destructive social legacies of slavery. Slavery was based on the assumption that the African races were inferior to whites. This view was passed on through the norms, values and culture of each society and its educational institutions. This created serious social and psychological problems for all peoples of African heritage; as they are often stereotyped as less intelligent, lazy, savage and incapable of governing themselves. The Race Relations Act, which outlawed overt discrimination on the grounds of race, is evidence of the reality of racism and the need to curb it. What we have now is covert racism, which is hard to prove, but causes just as much damage to the lives of black people. This is the last obstacle that both black and white peoples can join together to tackle and eradicate.

The Department of Education published an official report in 2006, which showed that African-Caribbean children are three times more likely to be excluded from school because of ‘systematic racial discrimination’ against them. Figures published by the department in 2005 showed that the rate of permanent exclusions for African-Caribbean children was four in 10,000, compared with around 1.3 in 10,000 for white British pupils. However, the rate for black African children was similar to the white British figure at around 1.5. in 10,000. Chinese pupils had the lowest exclusion rate of 0.2, in 10,000 followed by Indian children at 0.5, in 10,000 Bangladeshi at 0.8 in 10,000 and Pakistani at around 1. in 10,000. The report concludes that: ‘The exclusions gap iscaused by largely unwitting, but systematic, racial discrimination in the application of disciplinary and exclusion policies. Even with the best efforts to improve provision for excluded pupils, the continued existence of the exclusion gap means black pupils are disproportionately denied mainstream education and the life chances that go with it.’ Arthur Torrington, President of The Equiano Society, believes this to be a legacy of slavery. My own research examined black parenting and the issues faced by black parents living in the UK (Plunkett, 2004, Raising Your Child in Two Worlds). My conclusions were that black parents, while dealing with the same demands of parenting as most other parents, have the additional task of having to deal with the racism that they and their child will experience, which can hamper their emotional, educational and social development. The government report above confirms that black children experience racism at school; a legacy of slavery. Another legacy of slavery is that it causes separation between black and white peoples to continue to exist. There is still a need for us to come together and address these issues so that we can fulfill the law of God; ‘Love thy neighbour as thyself.’ To remember the injustices of slavery is to acknowledge those who lost their lives and support those for whom the sacrifices of others have brought freedom that is yet to be grasped.

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HEALTH

How we can contribute to the wellbeing of those in modern day slavery

by Anne Pilmoor 

I received an email from my son recently telling me that he would be monitoring projects in four different regions in Sudan. He named the places and then wrote, ‘I’m not going to go into detail (a) for the sake of my own sanity, and (b) because you will only fear the worst.’ My maternal sensibilities on high alert, I was grateful for his one oversight in mentioning the names of the towns; Google could certainly be trusted to find everything I wanted to know! The short search, however, threw up unexpected, horrifying accounts of twenty-first century slavery. There were examples of girls as young as five being abducted to work in the homes and fields of their captors; of fathers going on desperate journeys in search of their missing children, only to become victims of the same fate; of slaves, now frail and ‘no longer fit for purpose’, being sold at the cattle market or hung in trees to die.

n reality, although  slavery is not legal, it flourishes; the odds are that there are more slaves today than there were in Wilberforce’s day! The real shame is that more people are not aware of it. Contemporary forms of slavery include practices of forced labour, debt bondage, child labour and forced prostitution. Human trafficking, a rapidly growing problem, may conjure images of smuggling, but it is far worse. Victims are coerced or deceived into agreeing to their relocation. They are denied their basic human rights and are forced into exploitation by the trafficker, most commonly in the sex trade but also in sweatshops, construction sites and commercial farming. In truth, human trafficking is modern-day slavery. Easy movement across borders has made it possible for modern day slavery to reach into every continent. In affluent countries, trafficked women and children from Mexico, countries in the former Communist Block, and Thailand feed the sex trade. In the Near East, the largest category of slavery is domestic servitude fed by thousands of women from South Asia. On the Indian subcontinent, the largest category is  bonded labour slavery of the lowest castes in rice mills, carpet factories and brick kilns. In parts of Africa and Sri Lanka, the largest category is probably child soldier slavery. Most of the victims are female and a large percentage is girls, making modern-day slavery more gender based. While the following chilling statistics help us to appreciate the scale of the problem, they fail to provide the miserable, dehumanising detail of every account:

• There are 27 million slaves world-wide.1 • 600,000 people are trafficked across borders each year.2

• 250 million children (5 – 14 year-olds) are currently working as child labourers, half of these are in full-time work, and 179 million are in hazardous jobs.2 & 3

• 300,000 children have been forced to serve as child soldiers in more than 30 conflicts.4  In the UK alone:

• At least 5,000 children are currently being forced to work as sex slaves.

• Over 4,000 trafficked women are working as prostitutes.

• 10,000 gang masters are working across various industrial sectors.

• Since the 2004 Asylum and Immigration Act, there has not been a single prosecution brought for trafficking for labour exploitation. Information of this type leaves us feeling uncomfortable. It compels us to ask, ‘What are we going to do?’ ‘Can we do anything?’ ‘Can our efforts ever make a difference?’ ‘What is our Christian duty?’ ‘Where do we start in this huge mess?’ I recently read about a young teenager, Zach Hunter who, at the age of twelve, asked similar questions. It was during ‘Black History Month’ that he learned about the great campaigners such as Wilberforce and Harriet Tubman and the grim truth of the 27 million people still in slavery. His study stirred him deeply, leading him to start the campaign ‘Loose Change to loosen Chains’. With the help of friends, he collected £6,000 to fight slavery, making him our youngest modern-day abolitionist.

Be the Change, his first book, released in March 2007, is the only book written by a teenager for teenagers ever to be published by Zondervan. Zach believes that his youth is his greatest asset. ‘I think as you get older, you become more familiar with reality, it doesn’t seem realistic that you can abolish slavery. That’s why this movement had to be student-led, because adults, as nice as they are, can sometimes be wet blankets. But since students are resource-poor and have passion, and adults are passion-poor and have a lot of resources, together we can be a deadly combination.' Just how do we capture that same passion and optimism when our cynical voices convince us that we have little influence to end this 5,000 year-old practice? Our cynicism subsides when we recall the gospel accounts of Jesus affirming the dispossessed, the exploited and the hopeless. We see how he reaches them with a tenderness they have never known, bestowing on each the value of his own priceless life, the dignity that only he can give.

It is in this divine, compassionate image of deliverance we find and root our passion for the enslaved. In our context, it means speaking and acting against gang and gun culture; against the sex trade that insidiously infuses so many areas of life; against corporate globalisation that entraps millions in poverty and unfair trade. While governments pass laws to deal with and control the problem, they will achieve nothing more in a world increasingly bereft of Christian values. It is only when hearts and minds of slave-lords and slaves are touched by the Divine Hand, when they come to know the true value of a human being, that the struggle will end.

Here are a few suggestions of ways we might  contribute to the twenty-first century abolitionist movement:

• Admit that there is a problem here in the UK and worldwide.

• Support the various organizations that focus on programmes in countries supplying slaves, e.g. education programmes that warn potential victims and support economic alternatives. (ADRA runs many programmes of this type.)

• Call national hotlines when we see suspicious activity.

• Choose not to travel to tourist destinations where governments are not taking the problem seriously.

• Encourage local churches to help victims around the world.

• Encourage our MPs to pass appropriate, enforceable laws and to keep monitoring high on the agenda.

• Encourage the news media to report on the struggle.

• Commit, as far as possible, to buying goods endorsed by Fairtrade and Ethical-trade.

You can find more on their websites:

www.fairtrade.org.uk and

www.ethicaltrade.org.uk

1. UN Publication, Issue 3/0305. 2. Set All Free statistics. 3. Statistical Information and Monitoring Programme on Child Labour. 4. CS Monitor. 5. Joseph Rowntree Foundation Report:  Modern Slavery in the UK. 6. Home Office Figures. 7. Sir Menzies Campbell, Address in Birmingham: We must tackle Modern Day Slavery. 8. Religion Bookline, 21 Feb 2007.

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INSPIRATION 

Slavery Narratives by Catherine Anthony Boldeau

 As a young child, I was fascinated with art, music and poetry.

The ability lovingly to create ‘something out of nothing’ still fascinates me. As a teenager, my tastes in art, music and poetry changed and I began to appreciate the strong ‘narrative voice’ that is evident in these disciplines. Emancipation narratives have been around since the time of the Biblical Exodus, when Miriam and Moses sang, ‘I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted, the horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.’ Exodus 15:1, NIV.

For me, one of the more powerful emancipation narratives is the painting, ‘Slave Auction,  Virginia’, a water colour by one Lefevre James Cranstone who lived in my town, Hemel Hempstead. After visiting America for nine months from September 1859 to June 1860, he completed his impression of a slave auction in 1862. Richmond, Virginia was second only to New Orleans as a slave trading post. In the three decades before the American Civil War, more than 300,000 slaves were traded there.

Indeed, Cranstone was so moved by what took place in that ‘auction house’ that he also wrote a four page letter to the local newspaper, the Hemel Hempstead Gazette, about what he had witnessed in America. Although Cranstone painted many other scenes, ‘Slave Auction, Virginia’ is his most famous and is housed in the Virginia Historical Museum. Poetry is another medium for political expression in terms of emancipation. Many of the psalms talk about freedom from oppression, none more than Psalm 137: “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?” (vv. 1-4, NIV.)

The imagery used in this piece is moving. We see a sorrowful people, crying and weeping, who are then literally forced to sing ‘songs of joy’. One cannot help being moved by their predicament.

Such is the tone of the piece, Ain’t I a Woman by Sojourner Truth. Sojourner Truth was originally christened Isabella Baumfree in 1797 and was one of thirteen children born to slave parents. At the age of 9, she was sold at a slave auction and suffered terribly at the hands of a cruel slave-master. Her poem seeks to challenge the concept of womanhood: ‘That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud puddles, or gives me any best place, and ain’t I a woman? . . . I have plowed, and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me – and ain’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man (when I could get it), and bear the lash as well – and ain’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children and seen most all sold off to slavery and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me – and ain’t I woman?’

Negro spirituals are described as ‘The true musical expression in song of the enslaved African assuaging the sorrows of the horrific situation he endured in his every day existence.’ Not all negro spirituals are easily understood as it is suggested that many of them contain secret codes and languages relevant only to the slave community. We do not know the composers of many of the well-known spirituals. These songs were handed down through the ‘oral tradition’, as most slaves were unable to read or write. However, no one can deny the pathos and dramatic re-enactment of the life of a slave that a well-sung spiritual evokes. And no-one can deny the longing for emancipation in these lyrical narratives. The spiritual that always moves me to tears is ‘Deep River’. The song speaks of the pain and suffering of the earthly life and the longing for a heavenly home ‘where all is peace’. Deep River, My home is over Jordan, Lord, I want to cross over into Camp Ground.’

Many people, through art, poetry and music, campaigned for the end of the slave trade. We often only cite those like Wilberforce who were politicians and great orators. However, daily as the slaves sang their ‘spirituals’, they championed freedom’s cause. Those like Sojourner Truth, black women with fire in their blood, expressed their views of emancipation by poetic comparison. Still others, like the privileged Lefevre James Cranston were able to document visually their narrative for posterity.

The use of art, poetry and music, thought so trivial by many, I believe greatly assisted in the fight to to make slavery a thing of the past.

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Women of integrity and emotional strength were at the grass roots movement against slavery. Although they themselves lacked even the right to vote at that time, they played a vital role in the campaign to abolish slavery using techniques which, a century later, were effective in the struggle for women’s suffrage.

 Hannah More (1745-1833) is one deserving honour for supporting the movement for the abolition of the British transatlantic slave trade. As a social reformer, her practical achievements and the moral influence she exerted through her writings were exceptional. In 1787 Hannah More first met the 28-year-old MP for Hull, William Wilberforce. Sharing commitment to evangelical Christianity and an abhorrence of the slave trade, they established a firm friendship. They had a crucial role in giving the cause of abolition an urgent and public voice together with other key abolitionists, including Thomas Clarkson, James Ramsay and Sir Charles Middleton. Using her writing skills, Hannah publicised the campaign with ‘Slavery, a Poem’ (1788), which dramatically depicted the predicament of an enslaved woman, ill-used and separated from her children. This theme was repeatedly emphasised by women campaigners and also used as part of Wilberforce’s parliamentary campaign to achieve abolition. Even though her efforts met with fierce opposition, she was determined to succeed.

 Lady Margaret Middleton, like More, was a member of a group of evangelicals associated with the abolitionist campaign. Although she had no direct political power, Middleton was able to cajole her influential friends. She is credited with encouraging both the group’s leaders, Thomas Clarkson and William Wilberforce, to take up the cause in the abolition of slavery. She also provided the setting at her home at Teston, Kent, for all the key meetings of the antislavery committee. The 1807 Act ended Britain’s involvement in the slave trade but did not emancipate those enslaved in British territories overseas. Women were conspicuous in their support for the Anti-Slavery Society founded in 1823 that succeeded in bringing about emancipation in 1833. 

Elizabeth Heyrick, a Leicester Quaker, published a document: ‘Immediate, Not Gradual Abolition’, in 1824 which proposed the immediate emancipation of slaves in the British colonies, rather than the gradual abolition suggested by establishment figures. Women’s societies took up the call all over England. In 1830, the Anti-Slavery Society, as a direct result, abandoned the notion of gradual abolition. The women of the Birmingham society adopted an original Wedgwood cameo image as their campaign logo. It featured a kneeling female slave and was captioned ‘Am I not a Woman and a Sister’. With the strengths of growing campaigns and the growth of women’s political voice, the reformed parliament passed the act to end slavery in the British colonies in 1833. The act became law in 1834 and imposed a period of ‘apprenticeship’ on  slaves that concluded in 1838. On behalf of the apprentices, a national women’s petition was organised and addressed to Queen Victoria. The petition bore 700,000 signatures of women, which was described as ‘unprecedented in the annals of petitioning.’ Women joined the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society (BFASS) to fight slavery throughout the world and attended the first World Anti-Slavery Convention held in London in 1840. By the 1850s, there were more women’s anti-slavery societies than men’s. American women were invited by women’s societies to lecture in Britain. Several African-American women, including former slaves, also lectured. 

Sarah Remond was the first African- American woman to address mass mixed audiences. She became very popular through her lectures and writings covering both anti-slavery and women’s rights. She wrote: ‘I have been received here as the sister of the white woman.’

 Emmeline Pankhurst’s tireless involvement in women’s suffrage was the result of her being raised in a family which campaigned for the emancipation of slaves. She was influenced by the involvement of fellow abolitionist campaigners in the US women’s rights movement. It’s interesting to note that sugar grown on plantations was dependent on the labour of enslaved people and thus a product of slavery. Yet with the stance of strong women objecting about the conditions of the plantations, they appealed to both working- and middle-class families, encouraging them instead to buy sugar produced in the East Indies using free labour. This proved effective, and more than 300,000 people signed petitions and joined this boycott of sugar grown on plantations using slave labour. These petitions, spanning several feet, can be seen in the British Parliament’s archives today – a testament to the strength of these ordinary women campaigning and lobbying for change. 

Today, as we acknowledge a very shameful part of our British history, we are also mindful of the legacy of slavery, demonstrable in the racism, the prejudice and the discrimination that exist world wide. We are reminded of the reality of modern-day slavery which still impacts women and children today through forced domestic slavery and child labour. God still uses women of strength and stature today to bring hope and value to lives. We see it in the prominence of the matriarchal families worldwide in households where fathers are absent or deny their responsibilities. We see women’s strength of leadership and determination that the suffering of their fore parents will not be the portion of their offspring for generations to come. We see it in the self-sacrificing of their own needs for the comfort, security and progression of their families in order to cushion them from undue suffering and pain and propel them into a future of hope. We experience it through the emergence of successful and positive individuals from homes where vision and bright dreams replaced the nightmare of past hurts and torture to embrace a future where the best is within their grasp and not in the hands of another.