(Above) Children making masks as part of the Slavery Remembrance Day festival. Courtesy National Museums Liverpool
This Friday (August 21) civil rights activist Diane Nash is giving a free memorial lecture at Liverpool Town Hall as part of the Slavery Remembrance Day festival, which is arranged by the International Slavery Museum.
Nash was a key figure in America's civil rights movement, working alongside Martin Luther King and many political groups to fight segregation and prejudice. She was awarded the Rosa Parks Award in 1965, and the Distinguished American Award in 2003 in recognition of her significant role in American public affairs. Her lecture will focus on her life and her struggle against inequality.
Visitors will be able to take a journey through Diane's life, from her first encounter of segregation in the late 1950s when she enrolled at university in Nashville, her arrest for teaching nonviolent tactics to children and her help in drafting the 1964 Civil Rights Act to the election of America's first black president.
Diane Nash. Courtesy National Museums Liverpool
After the lecture, the Museum will be hosting a weekend of free activities, including live music, craft workshops, performances and talks to celebrate black culture. There will also be market stalls offering Caribbean and African food and crafts.
The Slavery Remembrance Day festival culminates on August 23, a particularly poignant date as it signifies the uprising of enslaved Africans in Saint Domingue (Haiti) in 1791, an act of rebellion which led to the global abolition of the slave trade in 1807.
The annual festival commemorates the lives and deaths of millions of enslaved Africans and their descendants and celebrates their fight and rebellion that ended slavery. It also encourages people to be reminded of the injustices that still occur today.
The museum will be celebrating African culture. Courtesy National Museums Liverpool
Liverpool played a significant role in the slave trade as it was used as a port for many of the slave ships, and much of Liverpool was built by African workers. The International Slavery Museum, which is the only museum dedicated to the transatlantic slave trade, was opened in 2007 to mark the bicentenary of the abolition of the trade.
The lecture will take place in Liverpool Town Hall at 6pm. Tickets are free but spaces are limited. If you would like to book, or have any other enquiries, telephone 0151 478 4543 or contact the museum via the website
