Sessions

Session 1 : Wednesday 22nd February 2023 - Introduction Session 

Websites for further exploration:

• Facing The Past website - https://facingthepast.humap.site/ 
• Lancaster Black History Group Website - https://lancasterblackhistorygroup.com/
• Lancaster & the Transatlantic Slave trade - https://visitlancaster.org.uk/museums/maritime-museum/the-transatlantic-slave-trade/
• Legacies of British slavery   - https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/ or https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/slavery-or-slave-owners/
• Black History Month 2020 Digital Encounters - https://www.facebook.com/watch/1617850964985668/355667845632606/ 
• Parallel Histories: parallelhistories.org.uk/

Closing Group Discussions

Q1). What do you already know about Lancaster’s connections to the transatlantic slave trade? Any surprises from what you’ve learned today?

• Learned Quakers in Lancaster were pro slavery which is strange as other Quakers were against it.
• Knew Lancaster was involved – but unaware how much it was fuelled by it
• Surprised at how much we (England and Lancaster) were involved
• Surprised at the fact that so many slave traders around the world have statues.
• Surprised people got compensation for losing their slaves but slaves didn’t get compensated for how they were treated
• Shocked to learn that in the past white people thought people of colour had smaller brains
• Dr Allcock – music lesson map to show links to slave trade – transatlantic triangle

Q2) What are your initial thoughts surrounding the destruction or removal of monuments and memorials associated with racial injustice?

• We shouldn’t delete history – we should add an extra plaque explaining its negative links
• It’s strange to take statues down and put them back up in another area – extra information needs to be added about their involvement if they are put in a museum or otherwise.
• We need to represent the full version of history: not just the British version
• We can’t burn the whole city down when it comes to buildings related to it. MW
• What is a monument ?- buildings, roads, any structure of historical interest
• We should remove them because we shouldn’t celebrate those people
• “There is a difference between remembering and celebrating” – JT
• The descendants of slave owners who remember them in a positive light need to be considered
• Writing things like “they were racist” is unfair and unkind as at the time they were living their views were acceptable – is it fair to focus on one person just because they’re wealthy and powerful - arguably yes if their wealth is built on the slave trade?

Q3) What do you hope to gain from this experience?

• Learn more about the history of the local area
• Learn more about the debate on facing the past in general
• Learn about specific people and what happened to them
• Memorialise the forgotten – are they recognised as more than just people who had bad things happen? Individual case studies
• Would like to know more about individual perspectives
• How does it affect our identity as a school?
• A deeper understanding of how Lancaster was built on the slave trade
• Being part of a group who has learned more about it will make people more likely to listen
• “Form my own opinion… a less broad view and get to explore it for myself” MW

Session 2: Wednesday 1st March 2023 - Lancaster Salve Trade Trail 

Click the link below to find out a bit more about the Slave Trade Trail and see  how it went.

Session 3 -  Thursday 9th March 2023 - Q&A with art historian Professor Griselda Pollock

Lubaina Himid Art

Lubaina Himid (born 1954) is a British artist and curator. She is a professor of contemporary art at the University of Central Lancashire. Her art focuses on themes of cultural history and reclaiming identities.

Himid was one of the first artists involved in the UK's Black Art movement in the 1980s and continues to create activist art which is shown in galleries in Britain, as well as worldwide. Himid was appointed MBE in June 2010 "for services to Black Women's Art", won the Turner Prize in 2017 and was promoted to CBE in the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours "for services to Art."

We were very lucky to have some of her art work in school with us!

• Lubaina Himid: ‘Telling stories of the black experience that are both everyday and extraordinary is what I’m here to do’
• Turner prize winner Lubaina Himid: 'I have more things to say – this gives me the chance'

Session 4: Tuesday 14^th March 2023 – Judges Lodgings

What did we do:

• Tour of the Judges Lodgings from an execution expert
• Talk from Lela Harris on her process and a preview on 5 of the 6 pieces from her collection opening 30^th March
• Talk from Archive specialist -Jess where we begun to discuss some of our ideas for the archive Facing the Past Archive - https://www.facingthepast.org/ 

Leila's exhibition

Session 5: Tuesday 21^st March 2023 – Exploring different types of memorialisation

What did we do ?

• Discuss different methods of memorialisation 

• Come up with ideas individually, in pairs, small groups then  agree on 5 main ideas as a group.

Our Main 5 Agreed on ideas :

1. Using Social Media - this is accessible to everyone
2. A day with the difference every year! / PSHE – or at least add it to a year group’s PSHE curriculum so every year group does it.
3. Lancaster Slavery Trail/ Virtual tour/ signposting of key events / QR Codes/ Adding historical places linked to Slavery on Google Maps
4. Annual art work – something updated every year (could link to PSHE – Facing the past every year a Year group does an art installation – can we get a spot in Lancaster where art work updates annually e.g. Lindow/ Dalton Square)
5. Time Capsule – can include books, poems etc - could it be a visually accessible time capsule – instead of it being hidden it could be on display/public – even updated regularly since we are Facing the Past 

Other ideas to consider:

• Dancing/ Parade – could be incorporated into PSHE Day – The Topic of Lancaster and the Transatlantic slave trade explored through different art forms
• Festival
• Lancaster’s own Remembrance Day of sorts with a moment of reflection e.g. The Day the last slave ship was built, FEJ’s baptism day,

Lauren wrote a lovely Poem after feeling inspired by our exploration of Angeline Morrison – The Sorrow Songs (Folk Songs of Black British Experience) while we listened to Unknown African Boy which you can find here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2ZLZEq7RtI