On this day in 1791, African slaves on St Domingo island, modern day Haiti and the Dominican Republic revolted against their captors; this uprising marks the abolition of slavery.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is calling upon the Government to recognise the date as the National Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.
The union group in the North West is supporting the Liverpool Slavery Remembrance Initiative who are running a number of events across the city.
NW TUC regional secretary Alan Manning said: ‘The North West TUC fully supports this initiative to remember and recognise the impact of slavery in developing our society and to celebrate the events that led to its abolition. By calling upon the Government to recognise this important day in our history it sends out a clear message that racism will not be tolerated.”
A spokesperson from the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) speaking to HRZone said: “CRE supports the commemoration of the struggle against slavery and its abolition. It provides us with an opportunity to remember the lives and deaths of those enslaved and the contributions made by their descendants who are central to the rise of Britain as an industrial power. By acknowledging and learning from the successes and failures in our history we can plan better futures for everyone.”
The United Nations has marked 2004 as a special year for the commemoration of the struggle against slavery and its abolition.
