Monumental Decision - 16th June

Hull City Council has decided to keep the Wilberforce monument where it is following its initial proposal back in July to relocate it to the centre of the city.

We are really pleased the decision has been made, and we can now press on to have the monument permanently illuminated in time for January 2017.

The Council will work with the charity to undertake some exciting testing of potential lighting schemes before summer’s end.

Once those tests are proved to be successful, the William Wilberforce Monument Fund will then focus its efforts on securing the final additional funding needed to create a lasting and impactful lighting solution.

The public had a part to play in erecting it 180 years ago, so we call on the generosity of the public in the 21st century and fair-minded people across the globe to help us celebrate the achievements of William Wilberforce and the abolitionists, and importantly embrace the new wave of awareness that is now needed to tackle modern day slavery.

Please help us in our fundraising effort and be part of it on our Virgin Money Giving page.

A Lesson in History - Update 13th May

A Lesson in History

Ships then, boats now. The numbers lost to the scourge of human greed is truly horrific. There have been some recent high profile boat disasters involving migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean. All the thousands of passengers were being smuggled - some were also being trafficked.

Human smuggling is not the same as human trafficking. This distinction was so eloquently made by a recent article by Klara Skrivankova, Head of Europe Programme at Anti-Slavery. Both are criminal acts and both are deplorable but they are not the same thing. Human trafficking (and therefore slavery) involves an element of coercion where someone is exploited through forced labour or prostitution. There are instances where one situation may overlap with another; it does not take much for someone who has been smuggled to become trafficked because of desperation or poverty. This is similar to someone who finds themselves having to flee from their home as a refugee or having to cope with the devastation reaped by mother nature. However, in order to address a person’s circumstances with a meaningful response, it serves us all well to not use terms such as people smuggling, people trafficking or refugees as interchangeable terms because they are not.

It is difficult to imagine what horrors lay beneath the waves when a reported 1,750 migrants died trying to cross the seas in the first four months this year. Compared to this time last year, this figure is said to be 30 times more. The single biggest loss of 700 migrants on 19th April came less than one month after Britain passed the modern slavery bill, and this illustrates the need for us to remain vigilant and not fall into the complacency of feeling that we have done something to combat the issue. Less than two weeks later over 7,000 migrants had to be rescued in another attempt at a perilous crossing.

These incidents show that changes in one nation’s domestic policy has an impact to a smaller or lesser degree on others, whether that has been self imposed or engineered by others. The ripples or seismic changes eventually reach us all, and this not necessarily easily contained within borders as the alteration of the status quo creates a climate of vulnerability. Without doubt there is a responsibility to look at cause and effect. Key points in history continue to have their own impact on the present, including the transatlantic slave trade, the Sykes-Picot divisions after WW1, and more recently the interventions in Libya and Iraq.

Campaign Update

Do you know anybody who is running the Hull Marathon? We are continuing to build the marathon team for Wilberforce and raise the profile of slavery.

We have three teams all named after abolitionists: Thomas Clarkson, Olaudah Equiano and Kevin Bales. Our next team, Elizabeth Heyrick, is nearly complete. We would like to name a few more abolitionists so let us know if you know any more runners who want to join in. Sponsorships for the whole effort can be made on our Virgin Money Giving page.

The image shows a group of children who were rescued from a British slave ship (the Daphne) after Parliament abolished the slave trade. Credit: awesomestories.com. Read more here.

Echoes From The Past - Update 8th April 2015

Modern Slavery Bill

The passing into law of the Modern Slavery Bill on 26th March 2015 represents one of the most progressive moments of recent times. The fact that an estimated 37 million people are enslaved around the world today tells us that this well deliberated bill is a necessary one and one which politicians of all persuasions have sought to secure. It seeks tighter regulations in Britain whilst beseeching other countries to do their part in combating this globalised criminal activity.

It is however important to emphasise that the passing into statute does not represent the end of a campaign, it merely marks the next step in the journey to eradicate the scourge of slavery that is endemic in our society. Legislation does not enable anyone to rest on their laurels it is often one of many steps towards effective action.

To take a lesson from history, the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade occurred in 1807 but the road from abolition to emancipation took 26 years followed by years of apprenticeship. Modern slavery has a different face and yet it would be depressing to think that it would take that length of time again before any real impact is made.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers

The momentum brought about by the emancipation of slaves in the United States and the former British colonies produced some notable developments. Whilst enslaved, many African American people took solace in the music they sung whilst working in the fields, songs which became known as spirituals. These songs elicited strong emotional responses as they spoke of the suffering and the emotions experienced by those in bondage, and the belief that the strength of their faith would offer deliverance.

In 1871 a cohort of former slaves took some of these songs to wider audiences in Europe. They aimed “to secure, by their singing, the fabulous sum of $20,000 for the impoverished and unknown school in which they were students" (Marsh, 1903, The Story of the Jubilee Singers, London, Hodder & Stoughton, p. 1). The Fisk University had been founded in 1866 in Nashville Tennessee by the American Missionary Association; evangelical abolitionists who believed in the power of education to help the advancement of former slaves.

On the singers’ first tour they did not visit many places in England but they visited Hull at least twice because of its connection to Wilberforce and notably visited on 1st August 1873, Emancipation Day (Rev Gustavus D. Pike - “The Singing Campaign Ten Thousand Poundsor, The Jubilee Singers in Great Britain"). A mark of their popularity was that nobility travelled some distances to hear their performance and on their second visit to Hull, they were presented with a gift of a fine oil portrait of Wilberforce as “a memento of the Jubilee work that will always be held in high regard" (Marsh, ibid, p.69) from a subscription of its citizens. After an absence of 140 years they return to Birmingham on May 23rd.

Campaign Update

We still welcome anyone who would be willing to run the Hull Marathon on behalf of the William Wilberforce Monument Fund – please email to let us know of your interest.

Our thanks go to Quentin Budworth and Rebecca Robyns for the very successful Changing Faces Exhibition. Also to Emily Gerrard who first raised the Fisk Jubilee Singers’ connection to Hull.

Image credit - The Fourth Visit to Great Britain, The Fisk University Jubilee Singers – programme from Wilberforce House archives.

Week Events Update - 15th March 2015

It has been a busy week for the William Wilberforce Monument Fund, so here are a few updates to keep you in the loop. Firstly, we had the second annual quiz on Friday (13th March) and would like to share the following note:

Secondly, Gifty has been featured on local photographic portrait website 'The Changing Face of Hull'. The website explores ideas of self, city and shared identity across the city. You can read Gifty's profile which discusses the Wilberforce Fund by visiting the Changing Face website.

And finally, last week we enjoyed a welcome meeting for runners who are interested in running the Hull Marathon on behalf of the William Wilberforce Monument Fund. The event was hosted at Kardomah 94 in Hull, and it was great to hear the enthusiasm from all attendees (image below).

Thank you for your continued support. Take a look at the About Slavery tab for more information about slavery through the ages up to the present day, and see the Donate tab for information on how you can contribute to the fund.

Modern Slavery Bill Progress & Campaign Update - 24th February 2015

Modern Slavery Bill Progress

The Modern Slavery Bill reached the Report stage yesterday (Monday 23rd February), where the legislators have a further opportunity to examine and make amendments to the bill. This will be followed by two more stages before it gains royal assent and becomes law. The provisional date for the 3rd reading in the House of Lords is March 4th. Since it was first introduced in June last year, the bill has undergone a series of tweaks and due diligence to craft it so that it is fit for purpose, although some groups still feel it does not go far enough particularly in addressing the rights of victims.

The bill is clearly aimed at providing the legal place for defining and prosecuting criminals, protecting and supporting victims and promoting accountability through corporate responsibility. Alongside this is the Modern Slavery strategy document issued in November last year which is intended to be a comprehensive cross-government approach to fighting modern slavery.

This was undoubtedly a necessary move in the right direction given the fragmented understanding of a new problem. However, on a local level, many police authorities have had to play catch-up as they formulate a coherent system to recognise the problem. They have had to devise a protocol for recording incidences and nominate a pivotal person as the central source to collate and recognise emerging patterns.

Historically it takes activists to affect change and again it has taken many groups including Anti-Slavery International, Salvation Army, Hope for Justice etc as well as local groups such as Hull: Slave Free City and ourselves to encourage focus, education and training. The reality is that as well as frontline staff, it needs a wider audience to be vigilant as it takes every person to notice and respond.

Campaign Update

The monument has been in the press again but the inference is that it is unlikely to move given the funding issues relating to the move. Also the re-modelling of the centre of Hull and Queen's Gardens needs to be taken into account. Our stance on this has always been neutral and we remain committed to lighting the monument in whatever location it is situated.

Thank you to Mrs Andrews at Biggin Hill Primary School in Bransholme for inviting us to look at the follow-up work after their visit to Wilberforce House.

There is still time to buy tickets for the Wilberforce Annual Quiz at Cottingham Parks Golf Club. Please email us - tickets are £3 per person and it is 4 people per table/team.

If you plan to run the Hull Marathon, why not get sponsored and do it for the Fund? You can make the event even more memorable by helping us to light the Wilberforce monument to raise awareness of historic and modern day slavery. Please email your interest today or come and join us at our welcome meeting at Kardomah94 on 7th March.

We thank Freedom Festival and Hull Marathon for showing their support.

The image is an official government poster for their current modern slavery awareness campaign, and is taken from the Lincolnshire Police website.

Become A Modern Day Abolitionist – Campaign Update January 2015

Become A Modern Day Abolitionist

In the time of Wilberforce, much of the evidence used in pro-slavery propaganda was of dubious origin and in some instances it was fabricated to salve the conscience of the masses. As American novelist Toni Morrison has commented, “Slavery broke the world in half, it broke it in every way. You can’t do that for hundreds of years and it not take a toll. They had to dehumanise, not just the slaves but themselves. They had to reconstruct everything in order to make the system appear true”*.

Each age of abolitionists used the tools they had at the time. In Wilberforce’s and Clarkson’s time they used firsthand accounts, signed petitions, artefacts and the visual representation of slave experiences in their anti-slavery material. Whilst the true horror of the experiences of the enslaved is so enormous and appalling that it is often beyond visual depiction or expression of language, it has to be represented in some ways.

Some of the constructs and values held by the anti-slavery camp were not without reproach. Sometimes they reinforced racial stereotypes and perpetuated the notion of white benevolence that was so prevalent in subsequent commemorative memorabilia. In common with the past however, it is necessary to stir people’s consciousness with the truth of the violence and injustice suffered by many.

Enslaved people cannot be seen as a collective as each person’s suffering is individual. Indeed, the multiracial aspect of modern slavery makes it less prone to the sort of religious or racist belief systems that helped keep it in place for centuries. We are slowly waking up to the fact that as consumers, slavery touches all of us in some form. The world is a smaller place.

Now slavery is not socially acceptable but rather a practice in all its forms. Many people find these forms abhorrent and therefore slavery hides in the shadows, only flourishing through deception, concealment and cunning. It can only be addressed by talking about it, recognising it, legislating against it and having strong anti-slavery campaigns wrought by individuals and governments.

The campaign to light the monument serves not only as a memorial to the voices of past abolitionists but also as a declaration of the new voices recognising the injustice of oppressive behaviour still present today by those who want to benefit through other people’s suffering.

Be a modern abolitionist by literally shining a light on the subject of slavery and educating yourself into awareness so slavery finds less dark corners in which to flourish.

Campaign Update

Run the Hull Marathon for Wilberforce! The Hull Marathon this year will start and finish at the Wilberforce monument. We are appealing for runners to run to raise money for our charity. The event can be run on an individual basis or as a member of a 4 person relay. Get in touch with us via email, then get sponsored and help us light the monument in recognition of Hull’s connection with William Wilberforce. We have 10 runners to date! Donations and sponsorships can be made through Virgin Money Giving or by emailing us.

Our thanks this month go to the artist Quentin Budworth and Clare Huby from Roots and Wings for some excellent advice on funding. Thank you to Glynis Neslen for putting our name forward to receive Liz Dees’ model of the monument made for the parade at Freedom Festival – this has now become an excellent resource.

The image is taken from the World Trade Women and Finance blog.

*This was quoted in the essay ‘Small Acts’ by Paul Gilroy which can be found in Blind Memory: Visual Representations of Slavery in England and America by Marcus Wood).

Update 23rd December - Education, Education...

The prevalence of modern slavery has recently been thrown into sharp focus with yet more high profile discoveries that sit alongside the many more invisible ones occurring quietly in the background.


The very exploitative and criminal nature of slavery means that the true scope of the problem is like shifting sand and much of it is down to estimates. There are thought to be 35 million people in slavery worldwide and up to 13,000 in the UK alone based on analysis recently conducted for the UK government. However, for some time, academics have been trying to make the facts behind the statistics more concrete and reliable using various indicators such as that used in the recently published Global Slavery Index.