<B>Liverpool, England-A Place of Troubled Water</B>

"Liverpool-A Place of Troubled Water"

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Liverpool-A Place of Troubled Water

England is not usually the first place that comes to mind when we think of African people. Liverpool, England definitely is not the first place the comes to mind. However, from this day forward you should think of it right away.

In August 1700 a ship that was called "Blessing" set sail for Guinea in Africa. This was not a cruise liner on its way to take people to a holiday. Instead this was the first known "slaver" that went out of Liverpool, England. The people of Liverpool were no longer going to be left out of all the profits that were being made in the sale of black bodies.

Between 1780 and 1807 over 3/4 of all English ships that engaged in "slave trade" were sent out of the port of Liverpool. According to a book that accompanies the "TransAtlantic Slavery Exhibit" currently in Liverpool, it was the largest single English slaving port in the eighteenth century. "It was also the undisputed slaving capital of England by far and the largest slave port in the Atlantic world."

The slavery in Liverpool changed only from chattel to wage slavery over the years. After the "trade" ended, there were Blacks that began to work for little to no pay at the same docks at the port handling the lifting of crates and shipping of goods. They had to work on this same spot where many of their ancestors were probably sold. Yes, not shipped out-sold!

Some of the British that wanted passage to the New World were supposed to pay a fee upon arrival and some times would not have it, but would own an African. Thus, they would pay their debt by giving the transporter or ship captain a "slave" as payment. The captains that did not trade this human cargo for other things that they needed upon arrival in the Caribbean on the journey back to England would often end up selling these individuals at the port once they got back to Liverpool. Many of these people then became the servants of whites in different parts of England.

As time continued, the African descendents that live in Liverpool continued to be discriminated against for jobs and a number of other things as many of their counterparts in the United States, Canada, and other parts of the world have and continue to be discriminated against and oppressed. In 1981 the Black community of Toxeth in Liverpool had a riot akin to any that we have seen on tapes from the US in the 1960s or even after the Rodney King trial.

All these connections became known to me after arriving on British soil. I found it interesting how I felt prior to even researching and studying any of this. When I stepped out of a taxi at the dock in Liverpool, which is now the home of several museums, I had come to see what I knew would be a painful exhibit-"TransAtlantic Slavery." As the wind blew and I looked out at the cobblestone and the ships, I did not anticipate what was to come next.

The pain of the African people that stood at the port in Liverpool, England filled me. I wanted to stop and just break down because of it, but the wind blew hard and pushed me forward. I took a deep breath and continued to go on.

As I got to the entrance of the "TransAtlantic Slavery" exhibit, the wind nearly took me away. It was a fight not to head straight to the water. Yet, I pushed on and held on to everything as I inched my way closer to the side of a building in the hopes that it would shield my light body and allow me to get to my destination. Once inside the museum, I walked, read, taped, and took photographs of the atrocities done to my foreparents which were replicated here. I had to take more deep breaths, hold my head up and march forward through the replicated hull of a ship and back through the diagrams and sculptures.

When I exited with my heart hurt by seeing this all once again and knowing we are still struggling as African people throughout the Diaspora, the wind blew hard, but could not move me. Tears flowed from my eyes because of the icy feel of the cutting breeze. All I could think and say was that the tears are appropriate.

Some of the tears fell to nurture the spirits still dwelling beneath the cobblestone who are pushing people to tell and to know their story. I glanced out at the water all around and saw it ripple with the wind. I took a final deep breath and walked onward with my head held high-enlightened and empowered.

"God's gonna trouble the water..."

Since that trip I have turned so many pages in dealing with Sea Island Gullah history and Liverpool has shown up on those pages in many ways. I shake my head, lift my chin, and keep going. I never forget that my people are everywhere in the world and that we unfortunately still have to struggle to be recognized and to know about one another. From the day I left that dock, I knew that I would never be able to forget that feeling and I hope that by reading this, you will never be able to forget the other homes of our people where they are still fighting for us to know about them.

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Marquetta L. Goodwine is a historian who specializes in the Underground Railroad and the Sea Islands, home to Gullah and Geechee culture. She is the founder of the Afrikan Kultural Arts Network. She would like for you to join her and the AKAN for a fundraiser that they are hosting for the Black Cultural Archives in England. The Ourstory & Heritage Conference will give you a chance to learn history, fellowship with Blacks in England, and see the townships that our people built. If you are interested in attending or making a donation to the Archives, please contact her at AfriKuNet@aol.com online or AKAN PO Box 40-0199 Brooklyn NY 11240-0199 offline. She welcomes comments.