International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade

On 23rd and 24th August, we'll be marking the UNESCO International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition with a weekend of activity across the museum. 

We’ll be telling the story of how Ulster and the slave trade were connected - from the people at home whose local economy became entwined with slavery through products such as tobacco, sugar and cotton, to those who emigrated to North America who often came into contact with or owned enslaved people.

During the weekend, you’ll encounter Mary Anne McCracken giving out handbills at the Dockside Gallery, as she once did at the Belfast docks, while asking emigrants not to get involved with slavery in America. You’ll also be able to visit the Rogan House, a plantation house originally situated in Tennessee where our Curator of Emigration will be diving deeper into the story of the enslaved people’s lives there and their experiences after gaining freedom in 1865.