Expression écrite sur l'esclavage

Good afternoon everyone! We are here today to introduce you our project about building a memorial in honor of slavery. Slavery was definitely abolished in 1865 by Abraham Lincoln but caused a lot of damages on black population. We are talking about a tragedy that has involved millions of black people and has marked the history of our world in general.

First of all, you're probably wondering what the link between Liverpool and slavery is. You may not know it but our city had an important role in slavery. Indeed, they took part of the transatlantic slave trade. That is why we think it is important to place a memorial in Liverpool to remember the past and do not make those mistakes again.

Then, the monument that we created allows us to relate the misery experienced by the black community. The memorial that we designed represents two closed fists and a broken chain between them. The statue is in copper to stay a long time and for the dark color as a black skin. This monument is full of meaning by its name “the chains of liberty”, that shows how liberty can be restricted. The broken chain highlights the liberty that was offered thanks to slavery abolition. The closed fists are there to underline the resistance that was present in black communities.

In addition, this memorial is for the oldest and youngest. The oldest because they already know what slavery means and how much it does have an impact on the black community. And for the youngest because they have to learn from those mistakes and make sure it never happens again. We should not erase the past like it was nothing; we must remember this tragedy and consider the legacy. 

We have to commemorate it and what a better place than the main square of our city? If we put this memorial there, the youngest will be curious about it and ask questions to their parents, and thanks to their curiosity the children will be aware and learn from that.                                                                          

Finally, if we are here in front of you today, it is for a project that is important to our hearts and on which we’ve worked hard. There is no longer place for racism and discrimination in this world. After all that some may have suffered, it is our responsibility as Liverpudlians to educate present and future generations so that this tragedy never happens again.                                                                                                                                                      We thank you for your listening and we hope you will come and admire our memorial "The Chains of Liberty".

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