As you can see there’s a lot of info, so I’ve tried to group them into connected themes, which is a mix of fact, fiction and questions. Please feel free to amend accordingly.
BRRISTOL INSITUTIONS
- Who are Bristol’s relevant modern and past heroes/ sheroes?
- Who are unsung heroes and on a local level that I don’t but should know about, but should be proud of?
- Which companies/ families grew rich, wealthy from the slave trade and who benefits from that wealth today
- What did compensated slave owners in Bristol reinvest their money into and which of this companies/ institutions still prosper today?
- What was Bristol Glass Company’s role?
- What was Bristol brass company role in slavery?
- How we’re the chocolate factories involved e.g. Frys
- Who are the people that should say sorry and why?
- Who pushes the slave agenda in Bristol’s City council?
- How far have we/ the city comes since the Festival of the sea and the Harbour side festival and how have they acknowledged slavery?
- Why the name – Cabot’s Circus?
- What’s the monarchy’s role – the British Empire?
- Which Bristol families benefited and still benefit from slavery?
- Edward Colston was a slave trader and founding father of Bristol
- Cabot school is based in St Paul’s – is this connected to Cabot the slave trader?
- What were Cabot’s and Colston roles in slavery?
- Is Cabot guilty and if so of what?
- What role did Bristol play in the ending of slavery and who were the key players?
- What was Bristol’s role after the abolition of slavery?
BRISTOL INDIVIDUALS/ COMMUNITY
- Who are the book aimed at and will it be inclusive, make a real difference/ impact?
- Who’s the book aimed at and will it flop?
- Who was Pero and what’s his significance
- What has changed in the last 10 years since Pero’s Bridge and the festival of the sea?
- Where is Bristol black people at right now?
- Where are the slavery landmarks in Bristol (good & bad)? E.g. Guinea Street/ Jamaica St, Cabot’s school in St Paul’s?
- Modern & past heroes/ sheroes?
- What infrastructure, businesses dose the black community own in Bristol?
- What dose black bristolian mean e.g. does it include Somalis, converted Muslims etc?
- What do the new immigrants/ new Africans think about slavery?
- Interview Paul Stephenson
- What legacy/ tributes are today’s generation leaving for tomorrows?
- What role did Portishead, Bath and other nearby city or ports play in the slave trade?
- Why are black people not empowered given the shared history and struggles?
- What type of event would act as a fitting living memorial to the slave trade?
- What’s the Fagon statue in St Paul’s all about?
- Who’re the positives role models
- Sorry is just a word without substance
- Community angry at ongoing denial/ silence on slavery and overt celebration of maritime history
RELGION
- What role did the church play and what role can it play in the healing process?
- What role did / can the black church play?
- What role did the Quakers play?
- How was St Mary’s, Redcliffe involved?
- What’s the Muslim/ Islamic perspective on slavery and how is it relevant to today?
CULTURE AND MENTALITY
- What aspects of slavery are we looking at – The African slave trade or slavery in general?
- Slavery is still with us today – what type and why is that?
- There are different levels of slavery and its always been around in different forms
- How did slavery come about?
- How has slavery affected the African continent, debt relieve/ advice/ language/ globalisation/ reconolisation?
- How does slavery still affect Bristol’s black community?
- Looking at the light vs dark skin blacks
- How did black people get to the Caribbean?
- Why are young people loosing their manners and respect for the traditions of their elders?
- What type of annual celebration could be held to celebrate/ reflect Bristol’s role in slavery?
- There are different levels of slavery. It’s always been around
- What was it like before slavery?
- How do we break the cycle of mental slavery?
- My identity - who am I, where do I belong, British vs Caribbean vs African
- Why do we need to keep talking about slavery, can we not jut get past it and focus on today’s issues?
- Do today’s young appreciate the sacrifices of their elders and their opportunities
HEALTH/ WEALTH
- What impact has slavery had on the health and wealth of black men in the present?
- Has young black people being involved n gun/ knife crime got something to do with the legacy of the slave trade?
- Learned about slavery in school, but lessons too short and only looked at the transatlantic/ transportation side/
MYTHS / BELIEFS / FEELINGS
- Whiteladies rd is where white women use to buy/ pick-up black boys to enjoy for their enjoyment – I s it still the same today
- Timberland logo is connected to slavery – the lynching tree
- Cabot was not a slave trader so why do people keep dissing him?
- Slaves kept in caves in Cabot’s wharf
- What everyday words do we use that are connected to slavery e.g. ship shape and Bristol fashion?
- There’s a myriad of caves under the city centre where slaves were kept
- Willie lynch letter
- All slave owners were bad people
- Free black slaves lived in Bristol
- What about White slavery
- Black boy Hill is where the slaves were sold
- Old slavery kept us by chains and whips. New slavery keeps us by chains (bling) and whips (cars)
- White guilt , feeling – I’m not to blame
THEMES
- Willie Lynch
- A slave to the past
- Oh Sugar
- It’s all about the money
- Black folks are still dying for the bling -
- How do new African communities view slavery given they we’re not enslaved but affected by the decimation of their continent/ country?
- Why are so many people in denial?
- Sorry is just a word
- Unspoken truths/ dark truths
Thanks to J for collecting them
[...] wore our wellies, had some chats, ate some food, explored the aims of the project, addressed some questions, raised a whole lot more and came up with some starters for these. [...]