(Webmaster's Comment: AMISTAD America is aiming to maintain the international contacts with the organizations and individuals from the visited ports of the 2007/2008 Amistad's Atlantic Freedom Tour) 

They have also endorsed the findings of a report from the community-led Abolition 200 Steering Group which calls for action on a number of fronts to strengthen efforts to promote equality of opportunity.

The Cabinet's draft budget proposals for 2008/09 include an extra £250,000 in projects and programmes that strengthen education, training and cultural opportunities for African and African-Caribbean residents.

Councillor Peter Hammond, Deputy Leader of the city council and Executive Member for Care and Communities, said: “As the Steering Group's report itself says, Bristol's commemoration of Abolition 200 saw an extraordinary outpouring of energy, passion and talent and was the most significant platform ever in our city for the city's African and African-Caribbean communities.

"Bristol's approach to the Bicentenary was about conciliation and recognition of the positive contributions made by African and African communities to the city. We worked with local people to try to help the community to find its voice and to bring people from all backgrounds together to begin the long and difficult process of building a sustainable legacy that offers real opportunities for greater equality and social justice for Bristol's African and African-Caribbean peoples.

“The Steering Group report raises many matters that the city council, and other public agencies in Bristol, must take seriously. We fully recognise that the educational needs of Black students are not always fully met and attainment and attendance amongst Black teenage boys in particular is disappointing. We also know that more needs to be done to tackle the specific  health and wellbeing needs of African and African-Caribbean people - through culturally sensitive care services for older people and appropriate support for young people with mental health issues, for example.

“I believe our services are already beginning to respond positively to those concerns and it is particular pleasing to see the steps now being taken by our Children and Young People's Services, Adult Community Care teams and Culture and Leisure Services to tackle some of the issues.”

Bristol's Abolition 200 approach - and its work to leave a lasting legacy - has drawn praise from Paul Stephenson, one of the Abolition 200 Steering Group members. He said: “The establishment of a legacy commission to enable inter-community relations events, following the commemoration of the abolition in 1807 of slavery, is a progressive step for the city council to take. Acknowledging the historic impact that the legacy of slavery has had on the city is a challenging task for all of us who wish to promote equality of opportunity for all of Bristol's citizens regardless of colour, race or religion.”

The full text of the Steering Group's report and other background information about events during Abolition 200 can be found on this website by following this link

More about Abolition 200 and slavery

Abolition 200 was held in 2007 to mark the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, passed by the UK Parliament on March 25, 1807. The Act was promoted by the then MP for Hull, William Wilberforce. Despite Bristol's long standing trading connection with the slave trade, many Bristolians also played an active part in the abolition campaign.

Slavery was not abolished by the 1807 Act. British slaves were not actually set free until after a further act of Parliament in 1833 and slaves were still being traded across the Atlantic well into the late 19th century. Slavery was not abolished in the US until 1865 and the transatlantic trade didn't cease until Brazil abandoned it in 1888. Slavery continues today across the world in many forms and affecting people of all ages, races and backgrounds.

International Slavery Memorial Day (often known as International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition) is held annually on August 23rd. It was established by UNESCO and commemorates the world's first successful uprising by enslaved Africans in Haiti (then St. Domingue) which began on 22-23 August 1791. The revolt led to the establishment of the first black-led state in the Caribbean.


For further information about slavery, visit the websites shown below.

Author:  Helen Hewitt/Simon Caplan

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