A SCULPTURE at the centre of a race row has been officially unveiled in Old Trafford.
The £15,000 artwork, in Seymour Park, was made by Wigan artist Paulajaine Goodwin and designed by youngsters inspired to mark last year's bicentenary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
But because it featured a clenched fist similar to the `black power' gesture of the civil rights era, residents complained about it to Trafford council, and far-right websites jumped on the bandwagon.
Now, Coun Whit Stennett, of Trafford's Clifford ward, has defied the critics to unveil a modified version of the statue at a special event to mark Black History Month.
The statue now has chains and shackles on the fist, so that onlookers understand it makes a statement about slavery, and not separatism. It was launched at a special event at Seymour Park's youth centre, which the youngsters who worked on the project attend.
Parise Lennie, a 15-year-old pupil at Whalley Range High School for Girls, from Hulme, said: "This is our way of celebrating history and showing our opinions of it.
"Slavery wasn't so long ago - it's as close to us as having a great grandmother born into slavery."
Coun Stennett unveiled the statue with a speech that quoted reggae legend Bob Marley.
Identity
He told the M.E.N: "It's very important that young people remember their heritage, at a time when so many are struggling with their identity.
"A people without a knowledge of history and culture is like a tree without roots and branches. This project has seen people from lots of different backgrounds come together to pursue a common goal, and is a wonderful thing for the community."
A group of 10 local teenagers aged between 13 and 18 were asked to come up with ideas for the sculpture after taking part in a four-month series of workshops as well as sessions around the meaning of freedom.
They began working on it in June last year, visiting the Black History Museum in Liverpool for research. But this July, visitors to the park complained that the sculpture was 'offensive'.
Tommy Gallagher, vice chair of the Friends of Old Trafford community group, complained that 'a clenched fist is racist to a lot of people around here' and said 'older people are not happy about it'.
Tina Blake of Groundwork, the charity behind the project, said although the negative publicity had been 'discouraging', the sculpture, funded by 'Safer, Stronger Communities' and the European Regional Development Fund, was an asset to the community.
The fist gesture came to symbolise pride in the face of discrimination among black people in the 1960s.
At the 1968 Mexico Olympics, gold and silver medal sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists on the podium to highlight the injustices black people were suffering in America.
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Race row sculpture unveiled
October 28, 2008
The controversial sculpture before the chains were added.
Showing comments 1 to 18 and replies | View All
John - sheikhing all over (28/10/2008 at 08:10)
no justice no peace.
but the black, white, asian gangs should chill out and smile at each other a bit more,instead of carrying on the hatred.
they kill each other to be the biggest rat in the sewer..
class war not street war...
but maybe they are too stupid to realise who the real enemy is ???
there is too much hatred between the people but there has always been hatred between peoples of different races and religions.
we can just accept it, or raise our multi coloured fist and say.
no more. IMHO.
Jay B, oldham (28/10/2008 at 08:47)
there is really no need for something like this sort of thing!
it just fuels more anger and hate against different cultures
Al Capone (28/10/2008 at 08:59)
Chris Green, Chorlton-cum-Hardy (28/10/2008 at 09:43)
Last year, I went to the Manchester International Festival symposium on slavery. There were four speakers, two of whom were excellent and the other two had an extreme bias against white Britain and America. We heard from a lady who, only a few years ago, was taken into slavery in Sudan and after a time was brought to London to serve as a slave in someones house from where she eventually escaped. The British government has given her asylum so she never has to suffer enslavement again. We also heard from a man who works for a charity and he gave a clear account of modern slavery.
After hearing this we were told by the other two – sorry I can’t remember their names – that today’s Britain should feel “shame” for our history of slavery, we should be celebrating black freedom fighters rather than William Wilberforce and that America is engaging in a modern day version of the slave trade by making convicted murderers and rapists work. They completely ignored what they had heard from the Sudanese lady and blamed all the worlds’ troubles on white westerners.
No wonder people struggle with their identity if they are constantly told it is unrelentingly bad!
Last Pint of Holts, Middleton Manchester (28/10/2008 at 12:01)
I am a middle aged 'Blackman'! I was born in England and I am English. My parents were invited to this country from St Lucia in the 50's.
Why is it that the white, liberal, middle class Guardian readers get all upset and apologetic because one or two British subjects made money out of slavery? In Africa, the village elders and leaders sold many of its own people to the rich merchants. They were not all captured and enslaved, a vast majority were sold as slaves by their own elders!
We know cities such as Bristol and Liverpool prospered from slavery but they also prospered from many other things.
I hate the history of slavery, I do get emotional that my ancestors were sold as slaves, however, its not your fault, so why o why do you feel the need to keep expressing your apologies!
It is ‘history’ and we should not forget in the hope we all learn lessons, but to keep bangin on about it and feeling guilty for something you personally had no involvement in I just cant understand.
David,North M/C (28/10/2008 at 13:06)
Marc (28/10/2008 at 13:44)
I'd encourage people to read The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson which covers the slave trade in some detail. Of particular interest are the writings of the Nigerian slave Dappa who travels around collecting stories about slavery. It seems that anyone could be made a slave out on the open waters in the 17th and 18th century. One of the main characters, a white englishman, spends five years as a slave to Barbary pirates. The pirates devastated fleets over the years, enslaving people from many races. Africa was just one small piece in the overall picture of slavery.
Ace Shakespeare , manchester (28/10/2008 at 13:47)
Black Flag (28/10/2008 at 14:06)
Ok, fair comment.
"there is really no need for something like this sort of thing! it just fuels more anger and hate against different cultures"
So we shouldn't do it because it might make racists angry?
I'd say that's all the more reason to do.
Ace Shakespeare , manchester (28/10/2008 at 14:29)
The best letter in this rag.Well said that man..its in the past forget it!
David,North M/C (28/10/2008 at 16:33)
citycentre, manchester (28/10/2008 at 23:56)
".its in the past forget it! " easy for you to say, not so for those who where the victims of this evil trade in people
while i am not familiar with these books Neal Stephenson is a fiction writer; might be better to read a history book?
lizard (30/10/2008 at 12:18)
Ace Shakespeare , manchester (30/10/2008 at 12:28)
People only see black people who were sold as slaves a lot of english/british people were sold as slaves.They were caugh like animals up and down the shores of britain and some white slaves was sold to america to do the hard graft just like black slaves so its not just blac slaves we had white slaves as well,so why dont we open all our eyes and tell the real truth about slavery dont hide it because we enslaved our own race/colour.I just wonder if the royals like the idea of hiding the slave history of white people??????
Marc (30/10/2008 at 13:02)
its all based on hard, solid facts, citycentre. don't knock it until you're read it. also, its difficult to categorise The Baroque Cycle. Some people consider it to be a work of historical facts rather than entirely fiction.
JTC Formerley JimC (30/10/2008 at 13:24)
A fantastic post, people should just learn to move on, that is what the future is for. It is not to keep on harping on about the past so they can get thier voices heard for self gratification.
Why some people want to live in the past is beyond me.
Last Pint of Holts, Middleton Manchester (31/10/2008 at 08:18)
Also, in addition and others had mentioned this but what about the slavery you suffered at the hands of your own elite?
Victorian factories enslaving kids to work!
I bet many of the ancestors of posters on here worked in the foundries and mills; I also bet their treatment by many owners was abhorrent! They were slaves of the industrial entrepreneurs!
Maybe you should have your own statue dedicated to the 'enslaved proletariats' of England, but I feel your average ‘joe’, your white working classes of the past are not a trendy enough cause!
I feel this sculpture is a token of a liberal conscience and patronising to hard working black settlers in the UK.
Slavery is not a colour issue, it’s an exploitation issue!
I am not a number (01/11/2008 at 21:08)