As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, this year's Maafa remembrance events usually held to mark “UNESCO’s International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition” at City Hall and “Sankofa Day” in Trafalgar Square will take place online as a joint, two-part programme.

The event which will be taking place on Sunday 23 August 2020 at 16:00 & 19:00 (GMT) has been organised and co-curated by the Mayor of London in partnership with Slavery Remembrance, Black Cultural Archives, The Equiano Society, The Ligali Organisation and Wanda Nation.

Part One: Commemoration Ceremony
4pm - 4:45pm: The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan alongside a range of academics and artists of African and Caribbean heritage, will reflect on the event's theme ‘Reclaiming the past’. We are delighted to welcome S.I.Martin (author and historian), Professor Olivette Otele (Professor of History of Slavery, Bristol University) and musical performances by saxophonist Xhosa Cole and Chineke!

Part Two: Community Discussions
7pm – 8.30pm: Shezal Laing (founder of Slavery Remembrance) , with host SisDr Sandra Richards and invited speakers will lead us through panel discussions focusing on the social, physical and economic impact of Maafa, and how this period of history is currently taught. We will also have featured performances from pianist and violinist Sam West and singer-songwriter Ayanna Witter-Johnson.

Panel discussion 1 – Statues, Docks, Sugar & Money
Chair: Shezal Laing (Slavery Remembrance) featuring special guests including Esther Stanford (Reparations Committee), Arike Oke (Black Cultural Archives), Toyin Agbetu (Ligali) and Jak Beula (Nubian Jak).

Panel discussion 2 - Education and History
Chair: Tony Warner (founder of Black History Walks) featuring special guests including Apex Zero (My Tribe), The Young Historian Project and Florence Onbanjo (GLA Peer Outreach worker).

Please register now via Eventbrite:
www.reclaimingthepast.eventbrite.com

Conference on Reparations 2020

Other Events

14th Ayiti [Haiti] Revolution Memorial Lecture: Ayiti Through the lens of popular culture
When: Friday, 21st August 2020, 19:00 – 21:30
Adm: Free (Donations Welcome)

Please register via Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/14th-ayiti-haiti-revolution-memorial-lecture-tickets-116647438629

The Jean Jacques Dessalines Imperial Institute & the PASCF [Pan-Afrikan Society Community Forum] extend revolutionary love and well wishes to our family/community, comrades and well-wishers and take great pleasure in inviting you to join us as guest lecturer Naomi Ray shares her research on Haitian popular culture. Exploring the mediums of TV, film, music, fashion, social media and art Naomi will give us a wider understanding of how Ayiti/Haiti has impacted not only on African culture and history throughout the diaspora but also on global expressions of popular culture.

Conference on Reparations Conference 2020
When: Sunday 23rd Mosiah (August) 2020, 16:00hrs – 22:00hrs
Where: Zoom ID - 823 4783 2976 / Password 23082020

This year's international guest speakers at the conference will be Ifagunwa Temitope (Nigeria: Youth Reparations Pan Afrikanist Activists) and Lynn Jones (Canada: Female Co-Chair of Global Afrikan Congress Nova Scotia Chapter). The conference is aimed at educating union members and in particular those in the Afrikan communities, their supporters and the wider Trade Union movement on aspects of history with insight into other aspects of Reparations. We welcome the participation and support of the Community Groups and Organisations.

Over 200 years ago on the 23 August 1791, a brave group of Afrikans on the island of San Domingo rose up and fought against the heinous crime of enslavement. More than one third of Afrikans died within a few years of being sent there. Led by, Toussaint L’Ouverture they defeated France, Spain and England. In January 1804 the first Afrikan state out of continent of Afrika was created called Haiti. Years later defeated France, wanted ‘150million francs’ in Reparations.

International Slavery Remembrance Day
When: 20-23 Aug 2020
Where: Various

The National Maritime Museum has organised a selection of events to mark the “International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition”. This includes a live performance from the London Lucumi Choir, an Emancipation Ceremony, where participants process from the National Maritime Museum to the River Thames and a live panel discussion.

For more details:
https://www.rmg.co.uk/see-do/international-slavery-remembrance-day