• I WOULD like to draw your readers’ attention to a fundraising petition backing the building of a memorial to victims of the transatlantic slave trade, which is trying to raise £4million pounds for its manufacture, erection and maintenance.

I believe it is well overdue considering the immense contribution that black people as slaves have made to the wealth of this country, be it from the actual sale of people’s lives, the cotton from United Sates, sugar from West Indies, etc, all providing money for our industrial and colonial expansion.

Wherever we Brits have been, we have made a killing, from tea to spices, most usually with no regard for the people we end up exploiting, indeed, oppressing for our own ends.

The wealth of London is there for us all to see in our fine buildings, and general prosperity of this country. This memorial work has been in progress since 2002 trying to get it going and built.

Despite backing other memorials, the government does not appear to want to help out with this one at all.

If you think it is time to acknowledge black people’s contribution to our society, rather than treating them as the lowest of the low, then you can visit the website “Enslaved African Memorial Garden Hyde Park London” to get more information.

CLIVE MARCH,
N19