b'Year 13 International A Year 13 history trip to the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool was Slavery Museum Trip organised to allow students to gain insight into the experiences of black people during the ascendancy and aftermath of the transatlantic slave trade. Furthermore, we sought to acquire a more developed understanding of the struggle for civil rights in the aftermath of abolition. Our current history course is about the struggle for civil rights in America, with the central topic being the experiences of African-Americans. The content learned in class provided essential context for what it was like to live during the time of the Jim Crow laws in 19th- and 20th-century America. On 12th October, Year 13 History A levelThe slave trade was exclusively concernedThese laws were intended to enforce a students travelled to the International Slaverywith the exploitation of black people. Whilesystem of political, social, economic and Museum in Liverpool to learn about the historywhite labourers were indeed transported toeducational discrimination against African-of black people and their struggles in the pastthe West Indies during the 17th, 18th andAmericans to stifle gains made during the under the heel of British imperialism. We set19th centuries, they were actually legallyReconstruction era following the American off on our journey at 8:34am to New Streetrecognised as indentured labourers at theCivil War (1861-1865). The landmark court station for a train to Liverpool Lime Street.time. Indeed, most famously the Barbadoscase Plessy vs. Ferguson in 1896 upheld Over the course of the one hour 50-minuteLegal Code of 1661 defined them as servants,Jim Crow and ruled that racial segregation journey on the train, students took some timenot slaves. Their working conditions werewas constitutional. It also imposed the to read up on what we would be learningcruel but temporary. An indentured labourerseparate but equal doctrine which in about in the coming hours, while others tookwould usually work for two to five years undertheory, not in practice, called for black and the opportunity to complete school work orcontract and became free and independentwhite services and facilities to be equal simply rest. of their employer upon completion. In starkin condition. Unsurprisingly, little or no When we arrived at Liverpool we set off oncontrast, black people transported from Africaconsideration was given for the state and a 15-minute walk through the town centreto the Caribbean, unless freed through revoltavailability of basic services and facilities to reach the museum. The town centre wasor some serendipitous circumstance, enduredfor black Americans. The trip allowed this quiet and fairly chilly that morning. Whilepermanent servitude. They were chattel slaveshistory to come to life.walking we saw sights such as the Royaland owned as property by their white mastersVarious recordings and objects were heard Albert Dock which was opened in 1846 andwithout legal rights and no hope of freedom.and seen throughout our tour, highlighting acquired the honorific Royal in 2018 as aThe workshop provided a stimulating outlookboth the beauty of specific African cultures result of a royal charter. Significantly for theon discrimination against people of Africanand the suppression they faced at the research we were about to embark upon atdescent and allowed for an understandinghands of the slave trade and later forms the museum, this complex of dock buildingsof its impact on societies today. Contrary toof legally administered pervasive racial and warehouses was a popular store forpopular belief, the impact of the slave tradeinjustice. The material remnants of racial valuable cargoes such as brandy, cotton, tea,did not end when Britain abolished it in 1807.segregation in 20th-century America were silk, tobacco, ivory and sugar, the manufactureNor did the effects of slavery simply vanishdisplayed. These included various signs, of all of which relied on slave labour. At 11amwhen it was abolished in 1833. Change instamps, and images where African-we began a self-guided tour of the museum.history is not like flipping a switch, and fierceAmericans were depicted as racially For around 45 minutes we saw African- political opposition to reform has figured moreinferior.American artefacts that carried substantialstrongly than reform itself.Overall, the trip was a challenging and historical significance. During the tour we wereAfter the workshop had concluded, studentsenlightening experience for us all. And also able to watch an incredibly moving shorthad the opportunity to roam the town centrewhile significant political and economic video by one of the curators at the museumfor some time while waiting for the train backgains have been made by some socially about how discrimination against black peopleto Birmingham. By 13:33pm, the train fromand racially discriminated groups in recent and their ancestors impacted her and her self- Lime Street back to New Street had arriveddecades (the acquisition of certain civil identity. Following on from the self-guided tourand the final two-hour journey commenced.rights in the 1960s is still within living was an hour-long workshop led by the sameBy 15:20 we reached Birmingham, bringingmemory for many black Americans), the lady. We discussed the hardship that enslavedan end to an eventful and insightful day trip tomuseums narrative illustrated the sobering Africans have experienced on a global scaleLiverpool.reality that the arc of history does not (known as the African diaspora) and had aFaizaan Mir, Year 13 curve towards justice.conversation about how sufferers of racialRayyan Yaqub, Year 13discrimination have navigated their social and political surroundings. 44'