- Conference
- 2019 National Black Members' Conference
- Date
- 13 September 2018
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference notes Memorial 2007 is a registered charity with no paid staff, run entirely by volunteers. They have been working since 2007 to erect a permanent memorial to remember enslaved Africans and their descendants.
Conference welcomes the donation of £7000 made to the campaign in October 2017 by UNISON and UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis joined as a Patron in October 2017 and said: “This memorial is a vital opportunity to remember the brutal impact of transatlantic slavery on enslaved Africans and generations of their descendants, one of humanity’s greatest crimes. I’m proud to support it both personally and on behalf of UNISON’s 1.3 million members.”
UNESCO “This memorial is considered as an important contribution for raising public awareness on the history of the slave trade and slavery.” Ali Mussa Lye.
Lord Oates, a Patron, has raised the subject twice in the House of Lords in 2016 and 2017. To date we are trying to get government support but the memorial is an uncomfortable truth for many, consequently there has been many obstacles to overcome to bring this to fruition.
To date the memorial has a proposed memorial sculpture, planning permission from Westminster City Council, 1,116 sq. meters site in Hyde Park’s Rose Garden for an Enslaved Africans Memorial Garden. They need to raise £3.3 million to cover the cost. The National Black Members published an article in Black Action in June 2017 and October 2017 and have been supporting the campaign with stalls and leaflet distribution at the last two National Delegates Conferences in 2017 and 2018 and the Black History event in October 2018.
This Conference therefore calls upon the National Black Members Committee to:
1) Continue to highlight the work of Memorial 2007 campaign and publish further articles in Black Action and other UNISON media, raising awareness of UNESCO’s work to erect a memoria that depicts the history of the slave trade and slavery.
2) Encourage branches to affiliate to UNESCO.