Mersyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool

The Merseyside Maritime Museum has already received international acclaim for its pioneering Transatlantic Slavery Gallery. Established in 1994, the exhibit continues to attract a significant number of visitors, bringing international attention to slavery history and an increased understanding of the consequences of the trade within the modern world. The success of the gallery has prompted the museum group to broaden their vision in order to «  to address ignorance and misunderstanding by looking at the deep and permanent impact of slavery and the slave trade on Africa, South America, the USA, the Caribbean and Western Europe. ».

Through its partnerships and consultations with scholars and institutes, including the Slave Route Project, the International Slavery museum has identified contemporary issues to set against the backdrop of the history of slavery and the slave trade. Central themes for the new galleries will include

• human rights, freedom, and under-development in Africa and the Caribbean
• cultural identity, pluralism and racial discrimination
• major contributions by peoples of African descent to the Americas and in Europe.

In addition, later phases will develop learning and outreach activities, principally through the creation of an on-site Research Institute (projected for 2010) and a visitor-focused Resource Centre. Additional information on the planning phases is available on the Mersytime Maritime Museum wesite. Equally, the website hosts their educational feature Slave Narratives... » as well as an archive of Merseyside Maritime Museum’s past events for International Slavery Remembrance Day and Britain’s Black History Month.