Exhibition marks 200th anniversary of abolition of slavery
A special exhibition is being mounted at the County Library in
Barry to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in
the former British Empire.
Organised by the equalities section at the
Vale of Glamorgan Council, the week-long exhibition will be open to
the public from 12 noon on Monday, March 26.
"Slavery Past and Present," which will be
opened by Vale Cabinet Member for Human Resources and Equalities
Cllr Margaret Randall, will look at the history of slavery and also
acknowledge the practices existing today in the form of modern
slavery such as bonded labour, forced recruitment of child soldiers
and human trafficking.
Cllr Randall said: "It is essential that we
celebrate this bicentenary by remembering the victims of the slave
trade, the ordinary people who campaigned for change, and the
abolitionists, led by William Wilberforce.
"To reflect on the past provides an important
motivation for all of us to tackle inequality and fight the
persisting slavery that exists today."
A friend of Wilberforce was Iolo Morganwg,
which was the bardic name of Edward Williams from Llancarfan. Iolo
was fiercely opposed to slavery and wrote many poems in Welsh and
English denouncing the traffic in human beings. When Wilberforce
succeeded in getting Parliament to abolish marketing slaves in
1807, Iolo wrote him an epic hymn of praise.
Cllr Randall added: "I hope that as many
people as possible will take in this thoughtful and thought
provoking exhibition."