Abolition '07
My Instrument, My Pen
A selection of poetry written by children and adults as a response to Abolition '07
Poets Adisa and Baden Prince took children from Hackney schools on a journey from Africa to the Caribbean and to Britain through music and poetry. Like Olaudah Equiano before them the children were taken from the slave forts in Ghana, through the ‘door of no return’ and loaded onto the slave ship. Shackled together in the dark the children listened to the poet’s account of the terrible journey endured by enslaved African men, women and children. From the ship the children arrived in the Caribbean islands and discovered slave auctions, life on the plantations, and how African people were subjected to torture and racism. From there the children learnt about Touissant L’Ouverture, Bussa and Nanny of the Maroons and other enslaved African people who resisted and fought for their freedom in the Caribbean and as free people in Britain.
To conclude the children explored the legacy of enslavement today and how the dream of Africa had stagnated through 500 years of slavery. With this in mind, and aware that they are free individuals living in a democratic society with their future ahead of them, the children stepped forward with the spirit of the Jamaican Maroons and announced their dream to the class.
Over 1200 children aged 7-11 years old from Hackney Primary schools have taken part in the poetry tours and a further 700+ are booked to attend during Black History Month in October. Through these sessions we have found the legacy of enslavement to have a profound significance for children and teachers of the African Diasporas from all over the world.
For these children the experience has not just been about the commemoration of abolition and remembering those who lost their lives during enslavement, it has also been about celebrating the resistance and survival of those enslaved Africans, freedom fighters and African abolitionists who embodied the strength and resistance of spirit to speak out and to fight back against the trade that stole people from their homes, tore families and communities apart, killed millions of Africans, this ‘…huge crime against humanity…’ (Benjamin Zephaniah).
Most of the poems and images displayed in the exhibition are from children aged 7-11 years old responding to the journey they encountered with the Adisa and Baden. Others are from the poets themselves, members of the Museum staff, teenagers, adults and elders who participated in the art and drama projects accompanying the exhibition and from members of the local community.
Would you like to write something for the exhibition?
If you feel inspired to write something based on your visit to the exhibition today please email it to hmuseumteam@hackney.gov.uk or save it on a CD and hand it in at Hackney Museum front desk – remember to include your name and contact telephone number with your entry. A member of the Museum team will contact you if we would like to display your work.
For space reasons not all works submitted will be displayed. If too many works are received the Museum team will decide which works to include, determined by the size, suitability and quality. The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
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Page updated: 2 Aug 2007