Campaign update - 24th February

This week, we attended an interesting public meeting by the City of Culture bid team about how Hull won the bid. It was well attended with a lively question and answer session. Such meetings are useful to gain more understanding of the context in which our campaign can fit in.

We have been exploring different means of raising funds for the campaign. We were able to attend a Cash for Kids event with Viking FM over the weekend; a worthy cause which helps us to gain ideas on how to put on fundraising events.

The campaign team are looking forward to seeing the play Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah, adapted for stage by our patron Lemn Sissay at Hull Truck at the end of the week.

Last week we mentioned that we had engaged with Transformational Logistics, a group interested in promoting ethical business practice in emerging and developing markets. This week we're featured on their website - you can read the piece here.

We are making final arrangements for our first fundraising event, a quiz night in Cottingham on Friday 14th March. Tickets are still available, so please pre-book your tickets by emailing us (tickets are not available on the door).

All ideas are welcome, so please make suggestions for a fundraising event, do something or donate because every pound counts towards this joint effort.

The image is from the front cover of Christopher Ketchell's 1997 book, Postcards of Old Hull (The Hutton Press, Beverley).

Campaign update - 17th February

As well as relighting the monument, this campaign has taken an increasing focus on issues of slavery not just in the past, but sadly in the present as well. Figures from the International Labour Organisation estimate that over 20 million people remain in slavery today and such shocking figures show that slavery is not just an event of yesteryear but is a very current problem for many people today.

We continue to focus on relighting the monument, but there remains an emphasis on the surrounding issues of slavery and equality.

Wider Discussions

This week we have continued discussions with other like-minded groups in order to work together and increase the prominence of our campaign. We have engaged with members of the And Albert Foundation who are working with Transformational Logistics to help communities by turning historic slave-trade routes into modern day ethical trade corridors.

We have also shared ideas with Hull Identity and are working with the Hull Freedom Centre. As a collective we believe that their philosophies are linked to our campaign in theme. We're hoping to work together with such initiatives to hopefully give us all a 'louder voice'.

The Monument

In our attempt to understand the options available to us in terms of finding the most effective and appropriate way of lighting the monument, we have had conversations with Hull BID who were instrumental in lighting Holy Trinity Church. We've also spoken to officers from Hull City Council.

We will consult lighting specialists to gain a firm understanding of costs and likely future maintenance in achieving the most effective lighting option. The monument is listed and the possibility of using sustainable methods will not be overlooked.

Fundraising

Two supporters of the Fund are planning to raise money through sponsorship by walking the Wilberforce Way this summer, a 57 mile, two day walk that starts at the Deep and ends at York Minster, passing many of the places associated with the life of William Wilberforce.

If you are interested in joining our two intrepid walkers and raising sponsorship for the Fund, please contact us by email. If 57 miles is too long for you, you can contact us for details on shorter walks.

Thank you for your continued support. You can donate here, like us on Facebook here, and follow us on Twitter here.

Image is from Elsom, Kenneth. F. Postcards of Hull (The Avenue Press, n.d.), p.43. “Queen’s Garden’s, Hull. C.1936. The former site of Queen’s dock. The in-filling of the dock took four years. The gardens were laid out at a cost of £200,000.” 

Update - 9th February

We have had some significant media interest this week, enjoying a feature article in the Hull Daily Mail on Tuesday and a piece on Calendar News on Thursday evening. If you didn't catch them, you can read the Mail piece here, and view the news report on the Calendar website here.

We have also reached out to some small businesses this week within Hull and the East Riding to make them aware of the campaign.  We are hoping to let most of the Hull and East Riding area know about this campaign with all of our efforts. We are now trying to reach out to schools at all levels, so please come forward and let us know that you support the campaign.

Too often we don’t listen to our elders but this week we have been honoured with the recounted memory of Mrs Eileen Myers, a woman now in her 90's originally from Hull and now living in Newark, who remembers the monument being moved from its original position on Monument Bridge as a 14-year-old girl. She also recalls regularly being taken by her father to visit Wilberforce House. Oral history can be a valuable thing; go ahead and ask the senior citizens of Hull because as is often the case, stories from years ago are far easier to recall.

We are still awaiting HMRC to register us so that we can claim Gift Aid, but in the meantime please let generosity prevail and donate when you can. Thank you to those of you who have done so already.

Credit to Fine Art America for the image. The picture shows the seal of the Society for the Abolition of Slavery in England in the 1780s, later used as the emblem of the American Abolitionist movement.

Campaign update - 2nd February

This week we have welcomed the current William Wilberforce as the second patron of our charity. William is a direct descendant of William Wilberforce (the abolitionist). He currently lives in Markington Hall near Harrogate and still retains some allegiance to Hull.

Also this week, we had the opportunity to present to members within the Hull Chamber of Commerce who expressed their commitment to back the campaign. We'll provide you with more updates as their support develops.

As we wait for HMRC to register the charity, we are busy thinking of different opportunities for fundraising so please send us your ideas via Facebook, Twitter or email.

Don’t forget to shop through easyfunding.org.uk (more details on our Donate page). It does not cost you anything so it is a great way to contribute to the campaign.

Image taken from skyscrapercity.com - credit to legolamb for the picture. This is Queen Victoria Square in 1903. It shows the monument before it was moved to its present position.  The Dock Offices are on the left hand side and to get your bearings, the dock is in front of the monument and the present day Princes Quay is in front, slightly to the right.

Update - 26th January

It is with considerable pride that we are able to announce Lemn Sissay MBE as a Patron of our charity. Lemn is a friend of Hull and will be readily remembered for his rendition of Martin Luther King's ‘I have a dream’ speech which left such a positive impression on many of us during last year's Hull Freedom Festival.

Lemn is already known for a significant piece of work, the Gilt of Cain, situated in the heart of the City of London close to where Wilberforce gained the inspiration to debate the end to the Slave Trade. For more information, follow this link.

Also this week, we have established an 'Easyfunding' platform so that at no additional cost, supporters can help the fund raising whilst shopping for everyday items online. Visit the Donate page to find out how you can raise money for the Fund by shopping on Amazon, Ebay, Marks & Spencer and more.

A meeting with the Council this week has been encouraging as they continue to give us their full support. Our campaign sits firmly within their plans for the City of Culture celebrations.

Take a trip back in time and watch these Pathe news clips. The first covers the Wilberforce Centenary Celebration in 1933 and the second shows Hull's Queen's Gardens opening in 1935.

Please support the campaign by emailing any fundraising ideas.

The above image shows part of the sculpture designed to commemorate the 2007 bicentenary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. It can be found at Fen Court in the City of London. It is a collaboration of artists Michael Visocchi and poet Lemn Sissay. Read more here.

Update - 19th January

We are very pleased to see that the film 12 Years a Slave is currently being shown in Hull earlier than the cinemas had initially planned. We'd like to give a big thank you to Cineworld who agreed to make our leaflets available to the public in their display stands in the foyer. Thanks also to Hull College for funding the publication of our publicity material. Both actions have helped us greatly in spreading the word about the fund.

We continue to get messages of support for the campaign which is encouraging. Hull Chamber of Commerce has endorsed the campaign and will work with us to help us in achieving our aim. They see the merits in this campaign as being beneficial to the City as a whole.

We would welcome fundraising ideas and pledges to hold events for the benefit of the campaign. Thank you for your continued support.

Image provided by Ronan Burns.

Campaign update - 13th January

Since the last update we have become a small charity and we are applying with the HMRC so that we can claim Gift Aid. This will take some weeks but we will let you know when this has been completed. A list of the five trustees is displayed in the ‘About’ tab.

Our aim remains to light the Wilberforce monument as a symbol of the great achievements of the abolitionist and as a means of keeping the issue of slavery in view. We are also keen to improve the cultural and historical awareness and the importance of the Wilberforce legacy. As such, we have written this into the charity’s constitution and with this in mind we are talking to other individuals with similar ideas.

I hope some of you saw the First Person article in Hull Daily Mail (10th January) which expressed our outrage about 12 Years a Slave not being shown after public release and then for only one week and in only one cinema in Hull, the home of the most famous of the abolitionists. Hull does not deserve this snub; we need to highlight the contributions that Hull has made to humankind.

Incidentally, we have seen the film (in York) and would thoroughly recommend that you go and see it as it is remarkable.

The image is from the front page of the Graphic newspaper, 11th March 1882. The illustration shows Whitefriargate Bridge and the Wilberforce Monument.