In 1789, for the first time to many, the horrific facts of slavery were laid bare by William Wilberforce in a Parliamentary speech where he finished by saying "having heard all of this you may choose to look the other way but you can never again say that you did not know.". Today we have the past and present at our fingertips, so those wise words resonate still. Let us get people talking - help light up the message.
We are on our way. We had a very successful first fundraising event, a quiz night held at Cottingham Parks Golf Club. This raised £689 which is a fantastic amount and demonstrates the support and good will of a community that is keen to make this campaign a success.
We would like to thank many people for their efforts. The role of honour is as follows:
Chris and Gerry Smyth, John Wiles and Chris Gray from Cottingham Parks Golf & Leisure Club, North Yorkshire Moors Railway, Hull College, Jo Pearson of Floral Studio, BBC Hull (Look North and Radio Humberside), MWJ (Hull) Ltd, Sutcliffe Consulting Engineers Ltd, Sally Pilmoor, Andy Marsters and Thomas Burrows.
We are deeply grateful to all who attended and those who were there in spirit!
We have also had a generous donation from Best Western Hotels and other individuals who have heard about the campaign and want to support us.
Current ideas for future fundraising events include a mini-marathon, a ceilidh, a dance-a-thon, a grand meal and the Wilberforce Way walk. If you can help to make any of these happen, please get in touch with your suggestions and any other ideas.
The above image is a diagram of the 'Brookes' slave ship - a diagram used to illustrate the brutal reality of how slaves were transported during the Middle Passage.
