STRENGTH IN NUMBERS: Protesters march past the Houses of Parliament [PIC CREDIT: Thabo Jaiyesimi]
THOUSANDS OF people marched peacefully from Brixton to Parliament on Saturday (Aug 1) to mark Emancipation Day and reiterate calls for reparations.
The procession, which united people of African heritage across all ages, religions and cultures, followed a hugely successful event last year that left those in attendance feeling empowered.
The crowds, which included many Pan-Africans, Rastafarians, member of the Nation of Islam, Christians and Black Hebrew Israelites, set off from Windrush Square and made the three-mile journey to the House of Commons.
Emancipation Day – a national holiday in many former British colonies in the Caribbean – is the anniversary of the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act, which made slavery illegal from August 28, 1834.
The march also was also part on an ongoing campaign for reparations to make amends for the generations of slavery that claimed the lives of millions of enslaved Africans who were displaced and robbed of their humanity while being forced to work to support Britain’s booming sugar trade.
Poet Mount Zinai of west London, attended the march with her family, including her two young children.
She said: “As a descendant of Caribbean people who all know we are from Africa, I felt I had to be there not just to represent as a family, but for my ancestors as well.
“Many in the Rasta community have spoken about repatriation and reparations for many years, with some critics calling us crazy. What was nice to see was that we are still talking about those issues but so are other members of the black community like the Nation of Islam and Pan Africans. Unity is strength.”
New research from University College London (UCL) has found evidence that Britain’s slave owners were compensated for the loss of their ‘stock’ to the tune of £17 billion in today’s currency when slavery was abolished.
The revelation has added further momentum to the reparations movement and in 2013 Caricom (the Caribbean Community Secretariat) – an organisation of 15 Caribbean nations and dependencies – started to pursue legal proceedings against the British government.
UNITY: Reparations expert Esther Stanford-Xosei, centre, during the march with Brother Leo Muhammad of the Nation of Islam, right [PIC CREDIT: Thabo Jaiyesimi]
The compensation paid to slave owners was also brought to the fore last month in a two-part BBC documentary from historian David Olusoga.
Zinai added: “I think [that documentary] was screened at the right time and encouraged people who may have been sitting on the fence to come to the event. It was definitely a talking point of the day and I saw one woman with a sign with a quote taken from the show that said something like: ‘They got £17 billion – we got a bible’.”
The mother-of-two said that she found it “hurtful” that Britain was not even prepared to offer a heartfelt apology.
She added: “There isn’t even a national day to memorialise the painful events of the past. The positive thing is that our community has come together and embraced Emancipation Day (Aug 1) with this powerful and joyful march to show that we will remember and honour our ancestors whether they like it or not.”
An event was also held in Kennington Park, south London, to coincide with the march.
There was food, music from King Original Sound, workshops and others activities as well as a wide range of key speakers including Rastafari Movement UK (RMUK) chairperson, Ras Gabre Wolde, and Bishop Joe Aldred.
Also on the bill was psychiatric social worker Dr Elaine Arnold; Dr Robbie Shilliam, reader in international relations at Queen Mary University; Mario Gousse; Khareem Jamal who discussed the psychological impact of slavery on the black psyche; Lambeth mayor Donatus Anyanwu; and young activist Afryea Adofo who urged self-empowerment through education.
Shango Baku, press officer for RMUK which organised the festival, said: “The RMUK festival provided a day with a difference, one where the black community found time to reflect, to be uplifted, to share experiences and ‘ground’ with each other in a setting that encouraged the love and unity so often missing from our everyday exchanges.
“The day set a benchmark for future events of this type, exemplifying what can be done by a few committed ones with a vision for liberating African descendants from the shackles of oppressive history.”
