On Saturday, August 17th , I attended the Slave Trade Money Trail tour, organised by The Day After (TDA), a news platform that streams live on YouTube every weekday from 8:30AM. TDA is the home of popular culture, tackling the latest in politics, economics, social and technological issues. The platform is very engaging and entertaining with a mission to empower and educate black communities in the UK.
Come with me, as I capture the spirit of English culture, a culture that often prides itself in rewriting history. This tour explores the City of London and its role in contributing and profiting from the destruction of African people. On this adventure, you'll realise that a lot of history is hidden in plain sight.
This tour was led by Darrel Blake, a community educator, activist and historian.
His confident, engaging style and great sense of humour made the experience enjoyable. Often time, you come across monotone speakers that make it easy to lose focus, however Darrel held my attention for over three hours with insightful information.
He brought along historical artefacts which sparked meaningful conversations within the group. In fact, I started to realise that I was really out of touch with my history.
As a woman of Caribbean descent, both Vincentian and Dominican, I didn't know much about my history beyond my grandparents. They lived in an era when questioning your parents was considered disrespectful. Although my grandparents have a few memories of their parents, there is little to no history beyond that, I guess my English and French surname will serve as a bridge between the past and present. During the tour, I overheard a conversation from a South African woman discussing how they keep preserve their lineage, which was really interesting to me.
Manilla was an object used as a form of currency during the slave trade to purchase slaves.
Many British institutions, including the Royal Bank of England, profited financially and contributed to the transatlantic slave trade. During the tour, Darrel provided us with various artefacts, such as old banknotes from Jamaica and Nigeria, showing us the impact the UK had on their currency systems. He also showed us cowrie shells, which were used in Ghana as a form of currency and represented spiritual good luck. Lastly, Darrel quizzed us on sugar cane, then treated the group to fresh sugarcane.
In honour of Marcus Garvey's birthday on August 17th, Emman, one of the hosts on TDA, walks with pride, carrying the Pan-African flag. This flag, designed by Marcus Garvey, symbolises unity among people of African descent worldwide. It was created during a time when Black people were being ridiculed and oppressed, standing as a powerful sign of unity.
Red: Represents the blood that unites all people of African ancestry.
Black: Represents black people.
Green: Represents the land of Africa.
Jamaica Coffee House
Let's take a trip to the first London coffee house, but lets add more context. This coffee house profited directly from slavery. The coffee it sold was produced by enslaved black people fromJamaica.
The original name of this establishment was named Jamaica Coffee House, fast forward to 2024, it is now known as the Jamaica Wine House.
In my opinion, the building should be sold, and the rights to the name relinquished. The proceeds should go back to Jamaica, where a new coffee house could be built in memory of those who suffered. It could generate jobs, but also serve as a place to educate people. It could even include a library or a collection of books to empower those less fortunate, providing knowledge and opportunity to the community. This coffee house would be for the people, a symbol of resilience.
The address: The Jamaica Wine House, St Michael's Alley, London EC3V 9DS
A visual representation of a black history
Unfortunately, the public school system often treats Black History Month as if it marks the first moment Black people existed. In Year 8, they made us watch Roots, this was my first introduction to " Black History". My dad made sure to buy me books featuring black people and encouraged me to to watch Black shows such as: The Cosby show, Sister Sister, Hanging with Mr Copper and Moesha. This was great for my subconscious, seeing people who looked like me, but looking back, watching Roots in a history lesson without any discussion afterward feels outrageous. It was presented as if that was where our history began, completely ignoring the rich history that existed long before slavery.
The image above shows Darrel illustrating how the system presents Black history versus the vast history we actually have. It was a long sheet of paper, representing just how much has been left untaught.
This is building, called Plantation place, is located at 30 Fenchurch Street. Due to the tragic events surrounding George Floyd in 2020, the decision was made to remove the name from the front of the building, as it was thought to be triggering. However, it remains known as Plantation Place, and the name can still be seen on a sign at the side of the building. (Hidden in plain site)
My thoughts ... throw the whole building away. Can you imagine going to work and telling people that you work at Plantation place and when you go to lunch, you're walking through plantation lane ???!!!!!!
To conclude
It's 12:10AM on Thursday, 22nd of August, and i am very tired. While I'd love to dive deeper and share more photos, I think it's more important for for those reading to take the initiative to do further research or even book a similar tour for themselves. I'll leave Darrell's social media details below. This is a reminder that although the system was designed to oppress us through education we can now use that knowledge to empower ourselves, We live in a better world today, and we should strive to work hard, have fun and believe in ourselves. Life is short, and it's meant to be lived. Remember you are here because your ancestors fought for your existence.
Some members of TDA Community that attended the tour.
Watch TDA every morning here.
Find Darrel Blake, on social media here
If you have any questions, want to reach out to me or enjoyed the post, feel free to leave a comment below.
Amazing to read. Must have been such an incredible day