Plymouth to get new memorial for victims of slave trade
It will be unveiled in the Peace Garden on Plymouth Hoe in March
A memorial dedicated to the many victims of the slave trade is set to be installed in the Plymouth Hoe Peace Garden next month.
The memorial, which will be mounted on a limestone plinth, will feature a plaque that not only commemorates the many lives lost to the slave trade but will play tribute to the work of Plymouth residents who worked tirelessly in their campaigns to end slavery.
It will be unveiled on 25 March to mark the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Councillor Tudor Evans OBE, Leader of Plymouth City Council, said:
"It is so important that we recognise the role that Plymouth played in the Slave Trade and the devastation which this caused to lives and communities all over the world.
"Although slavery was abolished over 200 years ago the trauma of these atrocities - the legacy of racism and discrimination can still be felt today.
"As a city, we must not try to hide from our past. We must raise awareness of the horrors of this cruel trade and most importantly the people and communities it affected."
An image of the British slave ship Brookes, designed by Plymouth MP and artist William Elford, will adorn the plaque.
This image was first published in a pamphlet by the Plymouth chapter of the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade and became one of the most important symbols of the national abolitionist campaign.