what we do
Honouring the victims of the Transatlantic Human Trafficking and Enslavement Trade.
Over 20 years ago UNESCO designated the 23 August as the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. This day has seen little recognition in the U.K. with many not even aware that the day exists. In 2016 Slavery Remembrance was established to change this by holding an annual national memorial in London’s Trafalgar Square to help promote this day, celebrate the great Ayitian (Haitian) Revolution and remember and honour the victims of the Transatlantic Human Trafficking and Enslavement Period. The memorial is held on the Saturday before August 23.
Our work to raise awareness of the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is already paying off. We have inspired others into action in marking this day too, and in 2018, the London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, and his team held the first event in City Hall to mark this day, with every attendee being gifted a Remembrance Sankofa by the Mayor. In 2020 we co-hosted an online hybrid event between the Mayor’s event and Sankofa Day, and in 2022, after being blocked from using Trafalgar Square we co-hosted a physical event at City Hall.
All welcome.
The Sankofa Day memorial provides a space for all who wish to remember and honour the victims of the Transatlantic Human Trafficking and Enslavement Period. It is important for everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, age or colour to come together to remember this horrendous piece of our shared history and pay respect to those who so greatly suffered during those 400 years. It is the first steps in the journey of truth, healing and reconciliation and by doing so we hope that we can eventually begin to bring understanding and peace for all.
Foundation
The legacy of the Transatlantic Slave Trade is far reaching from the Industrial Revolution to present day racism. Slavery Remembrance Foundation is a national charity, we aim to educate people of all backgrounds on the Transatlantic Slave Trade, its impacts, effects, legacy today and the important lessons we can learn from it.
Our Ethos
Educate - Celebrate - Inspire
Our ethos is to educate, celebrate and inspire people on the rich history, culture and achievements of Africa and her diaspora before, during and after the Transatlantic Human Trafficking and Enslavement Period, whilst at the same time challenging views on Africa and her diaspora as a result of the slave trade.
We also aim to raise awareness of the story of resistance of the men and women who fought for their freedom throughout the 400 years.
Our work aims to match the belief of our founder, Shezal Laing, which is:
With knowledge comes understanding and with understanding comes empathy.
“Thank you for doing that, I was there with my daughter and it was a blessing, she just said ‘mummy now I know where I come from’ that touched my heart, my daughter did not have identity[sic] that’s what I understand, she was struggling and I didn’t know”
“I was so impressed and inspired by the people who both organised and performed at this event, as well as the people who attended and threw themselves into the spirit. Some incredibly important issues were raised and it made me wonder how people could possibly deny the necessity of remembering slavery. I took photos of the memorial and wrote a piece about slavery remembrance, which you can read if you are interested by clicking the link below. Just want to thank everyone for investing their time and energy into such a worhy cause! I was especially touched by the woman fighting for better awareness of what black people can do to help victims of leukemia. Thank you!”
“I want to send personal thanks to Shezal and all who organised and ran today's awe inspiring event. The work that must have had to go into it was not in vain though was it?! That was one of the most powerful experiences in my 50-odd years. As well as feeling the unity and love, I learned SO much today, so much food for thought for me alone to take away. I’m sure many people took something from today. I can’t wait to start following up some of the acts and all of what I heard. I feel we ALL have much to learn from one another. From the moment it kicked off with that remarkable young man’s [Kush] poetry to the scenes at the end where I saw strangers chatting, hugging and smiling together. Total respect Shezal. X”
“Very special day. Well done for organising, looking forward to next year and a year of even greater progress.”
“This woman’s [Simply Sayo] poetry was absolutely amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire event, looking forward to checking it out next year.”
“What a pleasure attending the Slavery Remembrance Memorial Service yesterday! so nice to meet Akala.. Such a knowledgeable being!”
“It was a great day and I look forward to attending many more! Thank you for bringing this to people’s attention. Good luck going forward.”
“Up Up Up”
“It wa a privelege and an honour to perform at such a momentous, important occasion. Well done for all your hard labours Shezal and your team. Keep up the great work.”
” I was at Trafalgar Square as well yesterday and took some videos. I was particularly impressed with the Lady originally from Jamaica who said she single handedly started the movement. As well as the young Lady poet, whose poem was entitled ” Do you love yourself Black Boy”
“Well done to organisers, poignant but brilliant event I was glad to be there along with my daughters may we all go from strength to strength.”
“I was unavoidably late but so proud and happy I finally reached. Do we wait for same time next year for the next event or is there another coming up?”
“Brilliant event, uplifting, informative and entertaining. Fantastic speakers, dancers and poet. I was blessed to be there. Looking forward to next year’s event. Thanks to the organisers.”
“A big thank you to all those who worked on and had a strong enough dream, to make yesterday possible. An inspiring day. Please can you put some excerpts from the day up, especially Afrikan Boy, he blew me away. Quote of the day from one of the poets – ‘My ancestors can’t reach me, because my parents failed to teach me’ Let’s not fail the future generation, remembering is important”