Features / Bristol Charity Advent Calendar 2024
Bristol Charity Advent Calendar 2024, day 20: Bristol Legacy Foundation
The Bristol Legacy Foundation (BLF) was founded in 2019 to provide advice to Bristol City Council and other stakeholders on the memorialisation of the legacy of the enslaved Africans who were trafficked during the Transatlantic slave trade.
The lobby group was initially created by Bristol City Council but, in 2022, was made part of the Black South West Network, a non-profit focussed on promoting racial equality and uplifting Black communities across the region.
Chaired by former deputy mayor Asher Craig, the BLF has four key focus areas:
is needed now More than ever
- Memorialisation
- Reparatory Justice
- Partnerships, Investments and Resources
- Story House
Memorialisation
A space by the Cascade Steps has been confirmed as the site of the group’s first memorial- photo: Martin Booth
The Memorialisation strand, led by charity sector leader Ruth Pitter MBE and former lord mayor Cleo Lake-Ayiih, is focussed on creating ‘permanent and unchanging site(s) of commemoration’ in the city.
A space near the Cascade Steps has been confirmed as the location for the first memorial.
The curation of the memorial will be led by Bolanale Tajudeen.
18 visual artists from across the world have applied to design this memorial.
Their visions of what the memorial could look like will be put to a public vote towards the end of 2025.
Reparatory Justice
Meanwhile, the Reparatory Justice strand is focussed on progressing the BLF motion that was passed by Bristol City Council in 2021.
A motion from the BLF passed at a full council meeting in 2021 – photo: Hannah Massoudi
Their ‘Atonement and Reparation for Bristol’s role in the Transatlantic Traffic in Enslaved Afrikans’ motion read:
Differences in power manifest in asymmetrical access – a privilege which continues to run along racial lines.
To re-imagine race equality, we have to be mindful of the past and how inequalities continue to manifest. We should reflect on how racial inequalities are embedded in the current economic system.
Afrikan heritage people and communities systematically have poorer economic outcomes. Unless these systemic failures and their drivers and sources are identified and addressed, we are in danger of replicating them in any attempt to design a fair and resilient economy.
Historical attempts to disenfranchise these communities have resulted in the disproportionate health, economic and policing impacts experienced today. Alternative solutions and spaces are therefore needed, spaces which do not seek to privilege certain groups over others but seek to centre these voices, change the template, and create alternative solutions and spaces for Afrikan heritage people to thrive.
‘Reparations’ is a legal term defined by the UN which calls for ‘holistic repair’.
Our city and our country need a ‘process of repair’ to re-examine the reality and impact of Afrikan enslavement and its ongoing impact on communities today. As outlined by the UN, reparations should be holistic and can include many initiatives including public apologies, social justice initiatives, education, cultural projects, commemorative ceremonies and affirmative action. Nobody has the answers as to exactly what reparations should look like – that’s why what we are calling for is a process of repair which hears from many of the voices in our communities that have been impacted and are often not heard.
Partnerships and Story House
The BLF’s partnerships, investments and resources strand focusses on fundraising the group’s activities.
Finally, the Story House strand is dedicated to creating a museum or ‘safe space for storytelling, reflection and action’ which ‘explores the lives, histories and futures’ of people impacted by the Transatlantic slave trade.
Most recently, the group held an interactive session at the Malcolm X Centre in November to discuss what a future Story house might look like.
Asher Craig, chair of BLF, said in a December 2024 message to BLF supporters that the year had been full of progress and that 2025 was full of promise for the group’s ‘pursuit of justice’.
For more information about BLF, visit https://www.bristollegacyfoundation.com/
Main photo: Bristol Legacy Foundation
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