International Day of Remembrance for slavery victims tomorrow

Wednesday 25 March will mark the United Nations‘ eighth International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The occasion will be marked by the historic unveiling of  The Ark of Return, the permanent memorial to the victims of the transatlantic slave trade. The Ark of Return was designed by Rodney Leon, an American architect of Haitian descent.  The memorial represents a vessel to acknowledge the millions of African people transported under severely extreme conditions on slave ships during what is known as the Middle Passage.

Built on the Visitors Plaza at United Nations Headquarters in New York City, the memorial will help visitors, the general public and students to acknowledge the tragedy, consider the legacy of slavery and never forget those who endured its horrors.

The 2015 theme, ‘Women and Slavery’, pays tribute to women who fought for freedom from slavery and advocated for its abolition.  It also celebrates the strength of enslaved women, who succeeded in transmitting their African culture to their descendants despite the many abuses that they had to bear.

Following the unveiling, the General Assembly will hold a special commemorative meeting where Sylvaine Diouf, a renowned historian and director of the Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, will deliver the keynote address.

A cultural and culinary event will take place in the evening of 25 March celebrating the heritage and traditions which enslaved Africans brought to Europe and the Americas.  Pierre Thiam, a chef and culinary ambassador, will present a wide range of food that illustrates the impact of the Middle Passage on culinary traditions in the countries that participated in the transatlantic slave trade.  Drummers and dancers of the Djoniba Dance and Drum Centre will perform during the day’s events.  The performance, which is produced and choreographed by Djoniba Mouflet, will follow the journey of the African Diaspora.

Additional activities include a non-governmental organization briefing on ‘Women and slavery:  its impact on women’s rights today’, on 26 March.  A global videoconference on 27 March will give students from Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States the opportunity to make presentations and engage in live interaction on this year’s theme.  The United Nations Information Centres will also organize a number of commemorative and educational activities around the world.

An estimated 15 million men, women and children were victims of the tragic transatlantic slave trade, the largest forced migration in history.

Read more at United Nations