Virtual Black Abolitionist Tour of London

If history is destined to repeat itself, then we need to start learning now

By Shannon Brault

The wind howled at a blistering wind chill of -26 degrees Fahrenheit, the hinges on the back door to my home screamed with every movement, but the sunshine shining through my window was deceptively inviting to go on a walking tour through history. With the ticking clock of the winter sun, I rushed to put on some warm clothes and prepared for my journey. I sat down at my desk, opened my computer, and joined the Zoom call for Virtual Black Abolitionist Tour of London, a walking tour through some of London's richest history. 

Hannah-Rose Murray guides individuals worldwide through a 90-minute history tour of African American activism in London. Murray is an Early Career Leverhulme Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. She has dedicated her research to focus on the transatlantic journeys of enslaved African Americans to Britain between the 1830s and the 1890s and has mapped the experience of these formerly enslaved African Americans and their lectures across Britain to raise awareness of the cruelty of American slavery, both of which she has documented on her website fredrickdouglassinbritan.com. 

Murray has adapted some of her research into a walking tour of London, which is typically done in person, but like most everything else, it has been adapted into an online format. On the flip side, this gives people from all over the world the opportunity to experience some of this incredibly important, often undiscussed, history by pulling up tabs of Google Maps showcasing the buildings slideshow of information people we were discussing.  Most people kept their cameras off while on the Zoom call but still participated in the chatbox at each "stop" we took to ask questions about the building, the people discussed at the stop, and Murray's research. 

This tour, while virtual, was informative and thought-provoking. Last year opened many people's eyes to the reality of racism and inequality, both in the United States and around the world. Many connections have been made from history to the current state of race relations in the United States. If history repeats itself, how deep are we willing to dive into understanding where we have been in the past?

Murray explained that many African American people in the United States escaped slavery and traveled to Britain both temporarily and permanently between the 1830-50s, given that slavery had legally been abolished in Britain. This is a unique side of African American history that is often forgotten by both the United States and the United Kingdom. African American Abolitionists like Fredrick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, Moses Roper, and Josian Henson traveled around Britain sharing poetry, songs, and lectures about American slavery, their escape, the brutality they endured, and the hypocrisy of American freedom. According to Murray, they exhibited their scares and published slave narratives, sharing testimony to transatlantic audiences. The tour stops were just a few of the buildings that these events took place in around London. 

These abolitionists traveled thousands of miles, sold hundreds of thousands of copies of their slave narratives, and engaged with every race, class, and gender in Britain to share their stories and the importance of a free and equal world. They challenged white fragility, and American exceptionalism. They were mostly received positively by the British press. However, Murray shared that there were limitations to Britain's anti-slavery narrative, resulting in restraints on how negatively they could speak at their lectures and still receive favorable coverage. 

History is not limited to one area of the world. While slavery was a strong institution during the 19th century, abolitionist were also working halfway around the world to educate people on the cruelty of what was happening in the United States. Most people will go most of, if not all, of their lives never knowing the importance of the things they did not learn in school. Learning this history and taking it with me in today's struggles, I am reminded how important it is to use your voice when you believe in something and when you see injustice. I hope this serves as a reminder to you as well.