Churches across the country have held special services and educational events throughout 2007 to mark the bicentenary of the slave trade’s abolition this year.
In March, the leaders of the UK’s main Church denominations, including the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, led thousands of people through the streets of London in a Walk of Witness as a gesture of repentance for the church’s complicity in the trade of human flesh.
Last month, the Baptist Union of Great Britain offered a history apology for its part in and failure to stop the slave trade.
The new day of commemoration in the UK falls on the same day as UNESCO’s day for the International Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.
The Communities and Local Government Department said that the Government had renewed its commitment to tackling the legacy of slavery, including the challenges facing modern Africa and of addressing modern forms of slavery, particularly sex trafficking.
Many Christians are actively campaigning for the Government to do more to stop the trade in vulnerable women, men and children for sexual and physical exploitation.
In March this year, the Home Secretary signed the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings, which commits the Government to providing proper support for victims.
The Government has also pledged to provide school places for 15 million children over the next ten years as part of its ‘Education for Every Child’ programme.
Speaking at the new permanent gallery on the slave trade – ‘London, Sugar and Slavery’ housed within the Museum in the Docklands, Communities Minister Parmjit Dhanda said that the bicentenary year had seen a “remarkable coming together” of communities, voluntary groups and Government to mark the abolition of the slave trade.
“People across the country have been reminded of the suffering of millions who were enslaved; celebrated the courage of those who struggled for emancipation; and recommitted this country to the struggle against the unacceptable forms of slavery which sadly still persist,” he said.
2007 had also, he said, provided an opportunity to “rightly” celebrate the enormous contribution of black African and black Caribbean communities to Britain.
“However, we need to take targeted action to deal with the legacy of inequality in relation to education, employment and race still faced by some parts of those communities,” said Dhanda, pointing to a culture of low aspirations and low attainment amongst young black men.
