Commemoration of the Bicentennial of the Abolition of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade begins in earnest across the globe today, bringing to the fore the strides made by so many societies over the last few centuries.
However, as dozens of nations ponder and celebrate the symbolic end of one of history’s darkest, most brutal chapters, some members of the African diaspora are questioning Europe’s eager participation.
Emancipation Support Committee (ESC) chairman Khafra Kambon believes the Bicentennial is indicative of a fight for the minds and fealty of African people worldwide.
As Kambon described the efforts made by the British Government to commemorate the Bicentennial, his words initially sounded more like praise than an indictment.
Two years in the making, and backed by a high-powered planning committee headed by deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, the £20 million initiative lent support to abolition-related endeavours, including museum exhibitions public education drives, and film festivals. More money was allocated to similarly-themed private organisations via the National Heritage Lottery Fund.
“The fact that the British Government consciously took a decision to do that means that they attach some very serious meaning to it,” noted Kambon. “But you have to tell yourself that once you see this happening, there’s really some sort of purpose behind it.”
British abolitionist and parliamentarian William Wilberforce has emerged as the central figure in this commemorative drive, and has been celebrated this year in art, documentaries, lectures and an issue of stamps. The wide premiere of Amazing Grace, a feature film based on Wilberforce’s career as an abolitionist, coincided with the date the British Parliament voted to ban the slave trade on February 23, 1807.
According to Kambon, Wilberforce’s prominence in Britain’s commemoration (and, subsequently, the celebrations of several Caribbean nations) is indicative of the tone that the country is trying to set.
While not dismissing Wilberforce’s contributions to the abolition movement, Kambon believes that Britain is deliberately promoting a Euro-centric image of abolition that downplays the African struggle against slavery while lending themselves a moral upper hand.
“It’s the perpetuation of a mythology that is undermining and destructive to us mentally, and also lowers us in the eyes of other people,” he said.
Whose story?
Kambon supported his argument by emphasising the social power of historical perception.
“How people view what happened in history is important at the psychological level. We don’t see that, and that’s why we are affected without realising it,” he said.
The focus on Wilberforce, he said, portrays Britain as a nation that was moved by its conscience and exclusively responsible for the freedom of enslaved Africans.
“So far, Europe and Britain have managed to maintain a certain view of (slavery) that has worked to their credit and benefit and to the disadvantage of others who have been persuaded by that point of view,” he said.
“It gives them a moral leadership. In the world today, the people who share the power want to be seen in a certain light by those over whom they exercise power. They want to be seen as fit to provide moral leadership.
“On the one side you have a view that praises the British. On the other side, what is the view of the Africans that emerges?” he asked.
“It’s that here you have people that were enslaved for hundreds of years, and they were helpless to do anything about their condition. And therefore it is British humanitarianism that has to free them from that condition.”
“A whole chunk of the history of that period is ignored.”
No mention of Haiti
Kambon was particularly disturbed by what he cited as the complete absence of Haiti from the Bicentennial discourse in Britain and several other countries.
“It is the actions of the enslaved that were decisive in bringing about an end to slavery,” he said, mirroring similar sentiments by CLR James and Prof Molefi Asante.
The most significant of these actions was undoubtedly the Haitian Revolution, which first brought the true dangers of slavery to the fore and inspired rebellion among other enslaved populations.
“The Haitian Revolution is what put the writing on the wall for the entire slave system,” he said. “There was always the feeling that enslaved people could be crushed. They would rise up constantly, but (colonists) didn’t live with the fear of being taken over by Africans. What Haiti did was make that situation a reality.”
Britain abolished the slave trade in its empire a mere three years after Haiti declared independence in 1804.
The intense, continual fighting on the part of the Jamaican Maroons and other rebel societies also have been ignored in favour of token mentions of Africans like Oludah Ekuiano who bought their way out of slavery and participated in the abolition movement more peacefully.
Kambon cited Dr Eric Williams’ seminal Capitalism and Slavery as one of several academic works that challenged the view of Britain’s moral uprightness.
Williams’ controversial thesis dismisses the influence of morals in the abolition of the slave trade, and asserts that adverse financial conditions prompted Britain to discontinue the trade.
“Of course that view of history isn’t as satisfying, because Britain doesn’t look like a knight in shining armour,” said Kambon.
Many contemporary academics have contended that Williams’ historiography is based on shaky factual ground, but most historians acknowledge that morality was just one of several factors behind the move towards abolition.
“You have to ask yourself, if you are going to have moral arguments against the slave trade, but at the same time you choose to maintain chattel slavery, how sound is the moral argument?”
Colonisation of the mind
Kambon believes that the British commemoration is just one part of a global thrust to reinforce the colonisation of African minds, and is wary of the Wilberforce-only perspective being channelled to school history.
“Part of our emergence from colonialism is an understanding of who we are. And if we allow others to shape the way we think of ourselves, we will remain enslaved on the mental level.”
He agreed that the perspective complements the recent focus on charitable drives toward Africa by celebrities and G7 nations.
“The psychological impact of that is that Africans just see themselves as victims who are saved from wretched conditions,” he said.
“It is really a battle for the minds of people.”
Regional front
The ESC has long been at the forefront of the global effort to acknowledge and learn from the history of the African diaspora in the Western Hemisphere. The Bicentennial will play a major part in the organisation’s emancipation celebrations this year, and Kambon confirmed that several major displays and lectures will be held at the Lidj Yasu Omowale Emancipation Village 2007.
He applauded similar efforts across the region, particularly those of the Jamaican government.
“Jamaica is consciously making use of the anniversary to put forward their own points of view rather than reinforce the British perspective,” he said.
Asked whether he thought Government expenditure on the Bicentennial Commemoration could be seen as divisive in as multicultural a society as T&T’s, Kambon said that the Government has a right, if not an obligation to recognise all cultures equally.
“There is absolutely no reason for any government in the world to have to apologise to anybody for getting involved (in efforts like this),” he said, pointing out India’s financial and diplomatic support for the initiative via the UN.
“If things are done the right way, it will not alienate anyone.”
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