London Unveils Design for First Memorial to Transatlantic Slavery Victims

London is set to unveil its first memorial dedicated to the victims of transatlantic slavery at West India Quay. The monument, designed by Khaleb Brooks, is expected to be installed by 2026, with the mayor’s office pledging 500,000 pounds towards its funding.

London is set to have its first memorial to victims of transatlantic slavery, with the mayor's office announcing the design of a long-awaited monument. Advocates see this as a significant step towards confronting the past and its legacies.

Located at West India Quay in east London, where early 19th-century warehouses received products of slavery like sugar from Caribbean plantations. Over 300 years, British ships forcibly transported over three million enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean, and London's financial sector was at the heart of this trafficking. "We know much of London's wealth was built on the backs of enslaved people," said Debbie Weekes-Bernard, London's deputy mayor for communities and social justice, at the announcement of the winning design.

Inspired by the shape of cowrie shells used as currency in Africa to trade enslaved people, 'The Wake' by Khaleb Brooks will be a seven-metre tall bronze sculpture. Visitors can enter the sculpture, where the walls will list names of enslaved people.

The mayor's office has pledged 500,000 pounds ($655,750.00) towards the memorial, expected to be installed in 2026, but additional private contributions will be needed. Weekes-Bernard hopes the memorial and its educational programs will help Britain engage in a broader conversation about its history and tackle present-day racial discrimination. "There needs to be a conversation about how history connects to the experiences that Black communities have today," she said.

Currently, over 900 public monuments in Britain related to transatlantic slavery mainly honor enslavers or white abolitionists. The move comes after the global Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, which saw the toppling of statues of enslavers and colonizers. Critics argue this amounts to censoring history.

The idea of a slavery memorial in London is not new. Campaign group Memorial 2007 previously secured planning for a site in Hyde Park but lacked government funds. Campaigner Oku Ekpenyon stated, "We just have to keep on pushing."

($1 = 0.7625 pounds)

(With inputs from agencies.)