Abolition Season
Other highlights
When the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ asked people in the UK what they know of slavery, most said, "I saw Roots".
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Roots Remembered, featuring Kwame Kwei-Armah on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Four, brings key members of the original cast together for the first time in 30 years and examines the popular impact of that series.
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The Black Chord documentary presented by Neneh Cherry on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 2 is packed with glorious music and crucial information. The programme depicts the saga of the drive to bring good out of evil, as the people of the Black Diaspora used the power of culture to fortify and inspire themselves during enslavement.
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Poet and Writer Jackie Kay presents Words And Music – special edition on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 3.
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³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 4 showcases:
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- Squaring The Triangle, examining collaboration and resistance to the trade in West Africa, presented by Henry Bonsu;
- The Dinner Party, a dinner party becomes an arena of ideas when the lively conversation accidentally touches on the controversial matter of the transatlantic slave trade;
- The Slavery Project... a specially commissioned personal piece devised by and starring Lenny Henry, Adrian Lester, Greg Wise and Brian Blessed in which Adrian and Lenny explore the history of attitudes to slavery though comedy, drama and speech;
- Roots, a current affairs investigation behind the scenes into the TV series, the frustrations and challenges of getting it made, and its impact.
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bbc.co.uk/abolition
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A comprehensive and interactive website which supports all ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳-related slave trade programming and content and promotes a range of external UK-wide activities linked to the commemorations.
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Many of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Where I Live websites will also be pointing to regional events and local programming.
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The website part-launches on 20 February with a full launch on 12 March.
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Online history highlights include:
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- Africa and the Trade – Role of Religion in the Trade and Abolition
- The Slave Trade and the Industrial Revolution
- Role of the Royal Navy in Trade and its Suppression
- The Scramble for Africa
- The Caribbean – 1807 and Beyond
- Parliament: Abolition and the Modern Campaign
- How To Do: Caribbean and African Family History
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Have Your Say/Viewpoints: The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ will be inviting your views and comments on the slave trade abolition commemorations, slavery, the slave trade and its legacy across its websites.
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Highlights from the Nations and Regions
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- Who Am I? – a major ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Local Radio documentary strand giving eight people of African and Caribbean descent the opportunity to trace their ancestry through the slave trade triangle.
- ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Local Radio will be exploring the local links to slavery and abolition, examining the role this part of our history had in shaping the local landscape and economy. An interactive map has been created and highlights of the programmes will be broadcast on bbc.co.uk/abolition.
- ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Merseyside has a schools project to produce a series of bulletins recreating the issues and debates at the time of the Liverpool Abolitionist movement for broadcast on radio and online.
- Wales And Slavery – Sean Fletcher investigates the key links between the industrial revolution in Wales and the transatlantic slave trade.
- Video Nation: Our Stories – through 20 short Video Nation films and online content, the English Regions aim to tell the lesser-known stories of the anti-slavery campaigns.
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³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ World Service broadcasts Free At Last: The Beginning Of The End Of Slavery. There were wider forces at work that brought about the end of the slave trade, and slaves and former slaves were themselves also key in bringing about this change. This series, presented by Burt Caesar, looks at the wider causes of abolition and also at the mental legacy of slavery.
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³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ World Class is launching a nationwide competition on 23 February inviting children aged 8 to 16 to write a short story, poem or rap inspired by their understanding of freedom and captivity. The best short story will be dramatised for the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳.
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Blue Peter and Newsround will also look at issues of contemporary bondage and exploitation.
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For further information please visit bbc.co.uk/abolition.
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