Liverpool Group at Reconciliation Statue (Photo: Kevin Carroll)

A group of High School aged students hailing from various schools in Liverpool, U.K., came to Richmond for a week in February in their attempt to create a documentary film about slavery and its impact today.

The five students (Ian Crawford, Ellie Lewis, Stephen Wenham, Jon Sharma, and Heather Hughes) accompanied by their two chaperones (Philip and Enid Lodge) and filmmaker (Ian Freeman), made their way around Richmond learning more about Richmond’s role in the slave trade. A few of their stops included The American Civil War Center at Tredegar, Lumpkin’s Slave Jail archeological site, The Maggie Walker Museum, and the Reconciliation Statue downtown. Since Liverpool played a significant role in the transatlantic slave trade, these students felt it would be important to gain the Richmond perspective on slavery. After talking with a few of the students, I learned that in Liverpool, school aged children were not taught about the slave trade or Liverpool’s role in it until just recently. One of the students, Ian Crawford, had mentioned to me that a number of families living in Liverpool (including his own) have relatives who were slave traders, dating back as far as the 1650’s. When asked why these students care so deeply about their mission, the answer was simple: now that we live in a privileged world, we must not forget that both Richmond and Liverpool were built on the backs of slavery.

By: Kevin Carroll