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Prestwich Memorial

The Prestwich Memorial opened in 2008 as an attempt at resolving a protracted and sometimes unsavoury dispute sparked in 2003 when a property developer discovered human remains in central Cape Town whilst digging the foundations for an apartment complex. These remains were likely those of the colonial working classes, buried in the many unmarked eighteenth and nineteenth century graves. For certain activists, the remains were identified as those of their enslaved ancestors. A dispute began between people opposing exhumation on the grounds of respect for ancestors, versus those who advocated exhumation owing to the unprecedented opportunities offered to furthering historical and scientific knowledge. Following a public consultation process, the bones were exhumed, but were not subjected to analysis.

The memorial was constructed on behalf of the City of Cape Town municipality to house the remains, and provide an exhibition space to explain the affair. The opening of an artisan coffee shop named Truth in the memorial building in 2010 however created further contestations on the grounds of taste and respect for the dead.

The memorial features a number of fixed interpretation boards which explain the colonial burial system, the unmarked cemeteries beneath the modern city, and the type of people likely to have been buried in them. Enslaved people, of course, feature in this number. The bones themselves are situated in an ossuary area, accessible by a low entrance. They are separated from the public by a wooden gate. Whilst research applications to study the bones are invited, no applications have been accepted at the time of writing by a panel including stakeholders from various sides of the exhumation debate.

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Pompey Museum of Slavery and Emancipation at Vendue House

The Pompey Museum is named after a courageous enslaved man who led a slave revolt from the Rolle Plantation on Steventon, Exuma, Bahamas. Vendue House, where the museum is located, was built in the 1790s and operated as a market place where enslaved people and other goods were sold during the nineteenth century. The house was opened as a one-room museum in 1992 and was redeveloped in 2014.

The museum is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the lived experience of enslaved people, particularly during transatlantic slavery, and its aftermath in The Bahamas. It features a small selection of objects and images that complement these themes. Following its redevelopment in 2014, the museum curated a powerful exhibition entitled 'Wade in The Water: Peter Mowell, the Last Slave Ship in The Bahamas' which charted the plight of the enslaved Africans on the slave ship that wrecked off Lynyard Cay in the Abacos in 1860.

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Pniel Museum

Pniel Museum is a small community-run museum which opened in 2013 in the village of Pniel, close to Stellenbosch. It has its roots in a long-running project, dating back to the unveiling of the Freedom Monument on the werf area of the former Papier Moelen manor house (which now houses the museum) in 1993. Pniel itself is a former Apostilic Union mission station which was established in 1843. Many of its early inhabitants were purportedly enslaved people looking for somewhere to settle following the ending of the five year apprenticeship period in 1839. It was designated a rural coloured group area under apartheid. A small group of locals have a clear sense of pride in their history, and embrace their connections with slavery which is taken as Pniel’s formative experience. The Freedom Monument – which celebrates emancipation – was reflective of this, and subsequent developments including two further monuments and the museum have advanced this engagement with the past. The museum itself offers a thorough overview of local history, partially laid out in the form of a historical farmhouse, and partially based on interpretive content. There is no exhibition dedicated to slavery at Pniel Museum, however the links between Pniel and slavery are evident at various points. Additionally, staff (local volunteers) are happy to talk about the links both they and Pniel hold with slavery. Perhaps the most important display in terms of slavery is a family tree of the Willemse family. At the top sits a photograph of Adriaan Willemse who is described as ‘a freed slave who settled on the Pniel mission station and became the father of almost 70% of Pniel inhabitants’. The museum functions as something of a community archive featuring donated objects ranging from cutlery to trade implements. There are, however, no objects which belonged to the village’s early and formerly enslaved inhabitants.

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Old Slave Mart Museum

The first African-American Museum, the Old Slave Mart Museum has been open sporadically since 1938. Located in Charleston, South Carolina, it was built in 1859. It is thought to have been the last surviving slave auction gallery in South Carolina. It was used briefly before the American Civil War ended slavery in the American South.

The building itself is living history, and inside there are displays attesting to what happened there, as well as providing wider context about American slavery and its lasting legacies. The collections are quite sparse in terms of objects from the slave trade but there are many photographs.

The museum makes use of personal testimonies to bring the history to life through the voices of the enslaved and their descendants. These are presented as audio clips, available for visitors to sit and listen to. The interpretation features many examples of statistics, as well as maps and contemporary images.

All of the above forward the museum's mission to broaden public understanding of Charleston as a slave-trading centre in order to reach out to the local community.

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Old Residency Museum

The Old Residency Museum is housed in a colonial building, designed in Scotland and shipped to Nigeria during the 1880s. It previously housed the British colonial administration in Nigeria. The museum holds the largest collection of Nigerian documents and artefacts in the world. It focusses on the history of the Calabar and Cross River Regions, as well as slavery, and is managed by the National Commission for Museums.

The first exhibition encountered by visitors on their entry to the museum explores the four centuries of the trade in people that permeated Nigeria and the region. There is a significant display of European items that were used as trade goods in exchange for enslaved Africans. This includes Venetian glass beads, pewter pots, ceramic pots, shaving sets and guns. Other displays include items that illustrate the brutal nature of enslavement, including chains and manacles.

The museum's other exhibition examines the production processes of palm oil, as one of the most important exports to Calabar, after the abolition of the slave trade.

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Odell S. Williams Now and Then African-American Museum

The Odell S. Williams Now and Then African-American Museum was established by Sadie Roberts-Joseph in 2001. The museum is named for Odell S. Williams, a well-loved educator in the Baton Rouge area. It was founded as Joseph identified a need in the local community for a cultural space that celebrated African American history.

The museum has a range of vibrant exhibits, showcasing the contributions of local African Americans through history, across a range of different fields. These include, music, cuisine, education, politics and business. Visitors can step onboard an authentic bus from 1953 and explore Baton Rouge's role in the civil rights movement.

The museum's display on agriculture looks at the early plantation economy of the area, and the key crops that were grown then. It also explores the experience of the enslaved Africans that who used as labour on those plantations.

It has a broad events programme, and runs the area's annual Juneteenth event.

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National Underground Railroad Freedom Centre

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Centre opened in August 2004 and has since strived to tell the stories of those who have fought for freedom from the Underground Railway to the present day in the hope of challenging people’s ideas about inclusivity and freedom. The museum also aims to encourage and inspire people to promote and work towards freedom. Its position next to the Ohio River is a poignant reminder of its purpose as this river separated the southern slave states from the free states of the North. The National Underground Freedom Centre examines America’s heritage alongside discussions of contemporary slavery and human trafficking. It also forms part of a group of 'Museums of Conscience' alongside three others across the United States, including the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The National Underground Railroad Freedom Centre reveals stories about freedom’s heroes: the men, women and children who challenge inequities to pursue greater freedom for their brothers and sisters. Through a series of rolling ‘special exhibitions’ and its vast collections displayed in several permanent exhibition spaces, the museum highlights the long history of enslavement in America, and its continuing legacy in the modern world.

The centre's most significant artifact is an original slave pen (or prison) originally built in 1830, and thought to be the only surviving example in the world. Visitors can walk through the pen and see some of the names of the people who were once held there. Alongside the pen, which is housed in its own exhibition space on the museum's second floor, there is a permanent exhibition, 'From Slavery to Freedom.' This exhibition covers three hundred years of slavery from its introduction to the Americas to its abolition. 'From Slavery to Freedom' is funded by the Oprah Winfrey Foundation and features a range of collections, including artefacts, archaeological specimens and paintings.

The centre also houses the 'world's first museum-quality, permanent exhibition on the subjects of modern-day slavery and human trafficking'; 'Invisible: Slavery Today' uses the experiences of five individuals who have been caught up in different forms of contemporary slavery and exploitation to highlight the issue in the modern world, as well as including examples of modern antislavery work around the world.

The centre also contains examples of interactive exhibits, with films, hands-on activities and live gallery talks, aimed at providing their visitors with a multi-sensory experience.

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National Museum of the Royal Navy

The National Museum of the Royal Navy is located in Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard. Its aim is, ‘to make accessible to all the story of the Royal Navy and its people from earliest times to the present.’ The museum, housed in a former naval storehouse, receives almost one million visitors per year.

Through five galleries, the museum charts the development of the Royal Navy and the experiences of the people who served in it. In the ‘Sailing Navy’ gallery, visitors can find out about the initial professionalisation of the navy during the eighteenth century. There are exhibits which discuss rations, health, hand-to-hand combat and available honours.

In this gallery, there is also a section of the display which discusses the other roles played by the Royal Navy, in addition to participation in conflict. The most striking exhibit in this section is a diorama model which depicts the use of the Royal Navy in the suppression of the slave trade, after the abolition of 1807. A little-known story in the British antislavery narrative, the model is accompanied by interpretive text which provides some context about the transatlantic slave trade and the campaign to abolish it. In addition, it also goes some way to outlining the prolonged involvement of Britain in eliminating other European slave trading in the years following 1807. While there are no artefacts used in narrating this story, the diorama itself provides a visualisation of the practice of suppression.

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National Museum of Slavery

The Angolan National Museum of Slavery (or Museu Nacional da Escravatura in Portugese) was founded by the National Institute of Cultural Patrimony in 1997. Its main aim is to depict the history of slavery in Angola. The museum is situated in a chapel which once belonged to Álvaro de Carvalho Matoso, one of the largest Portugese slave-traders in the eighteenth century. It is also next door to Capela da Casa Grande, a seventeenth-century structure which was once used for baptising enslaved Africans before they were shipped to the Americas. The museum has a large collection of items that were utilised in the slave trade, as well as items relating to African culture pre- and post- transatlantic slave trade and a vast photography collection. Situated 15.5 miles outside the city of Luanda, the museum forms an extraordinary landmark along the "Slave's Route."

While the museum itself is realtively modest, it's aim is a big one; 'it is a testament and a reminder of the history of the Angolan people who lived in the day of slavery and it stands as a monument to those who suffered and were affected by slavery.' The narrative in the museum focusses predominantly on Portugal, the main European slave trader in the Angola region. It provides a contextual history of the Atlantic Slave Trade, as well as highlighting slavery in Africa before the involvement of Europeans.

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National Museum of African American History and Culture

The National Museum of African American History and Culture opened in September 2016, after more than a century of development. Designed to "tell the American story through the lens of African American history and culture," it forms the only national museum in the USA that is exclusively devoted to the documentation of African American history and culture. It stands on Washington's National Mall as the newest, nineteenth museum of the Smithsonian Institute. Established by an Act of Congress in 2003, the museum has had over one million visitors since its opening.

The displays in the museum are divided into two halves. There are three history galleries, charting key events in the history of America, with specific reference to the experience of the African American community. These galleries begin with displays about Africa prior to the slave trade, showcasing the rich culture and advanced nature of civilisations there. The displays then move on to enslavement, the Middle Passage and Plantation Life. In all of these displays, the experience of the enslaved people is central to the interpretation, and much use is made of archive material, providing quotations which bring the voices of the enslaved to the fore of the narrative.

The displays in the history galleries go on to interpret abolition, reconstruction, emancipation and Civil Rights. They end with the inauguration of Barack Obama in 2009. The displays make use of a wealth of collections, some 36,000 objects now belong to the museum. The key to the narrative throughout all of these displays is the central position of African Americans to the national history of America.

The other side of the museum consists of three 'community galleries.' Again these focus on the achievements of African Americans, through themes like sport, military, theatre, television, literature and art. Here, some of the museum's 'celebrity' artefacts, including Michael Jordan's NBA finals jersey and one of Jimi Hendrix's vests. This section of the museum also houses the 'Robert Frederick Smith Explore Your Family History Centre,’ where visitors can look at digitised archive material with expert guidance to explore their own family tree.

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National Museum Afroperuano

The National Museum Afroperuano (or National Museum of Afro-Peruvian History) opened in 2009. Housed in the 'House of Thirteen Coins', in Lima, the museum is dedicated to acquiring, preserving and interpreting objects relating to African history in Peru.

The exhibitions begin by examining the arrival of Africans in Peru, via the Portuguese slave trade. The interpretation explores the process of enslavement and transportation alongside the nature of plantation work and the treatment of the enslaved by the Portuguese. A range of artefacts, artist representations and artefacts visually present these issues to visitors.

The exhibition examines the abolition of slavery in 1856 following the rise of Simon Bolivar and the independence of Peru. Objects and photographs then depict the influences of African culture in different aspects of Peruvian life, including music, dress, art and food.

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National History Museum

The National History Museum of Mauritius opened in 1948. It is housed in an French colonial villa built in 1772 that was formerly used as a military hospital, a naval museum and the Museum of Historical Souvenirs. It is managed by the Mauritius Museums Council, under the governance of the Ministry of Arts and Culture. The museum explores the social and cultural history of Mauritius; from its discovery by the Portuguese at the start of the sixteenth century, through its successive colonisations by the Dutch, French and British, up to the end of the nineteenth century.

The first floor of the museum exhibits the Dutch, French and Anglo-French wars. Each room explores a different era with artefacts from the period; these range from furniture and decorative arts to weapons, maritime equipment and ceramics.

On the second floor of the museum there is an exhibition dedicated to the British rule of Mauritius, from 1810 until 1968. The interpretation examines the transformation of Mauritius from a maritime economy to an agricultural one, with a key focus on the production of sugar. Alongside this is a discussion of the use of slavery and the development of the slave trade, indentured labour and Indian immigration. Artefacts here include agricultural tools, paintings and drawings depicting the changing landscape and the workforce, and archival documents.

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National Civil Rights Museum

The National Civil Rights Museum is housed in the Lorraine Motel, where civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on 4 April, 1968. It was founded in 1991 with the mission of sharing and raising awareness about the lessons and legacies from the Civil Rights Movement. The museum makes use of historic collections and a range of interactive exhibits, including film and audio, to tell these stories. Recently renovated in 2013-14, the museum is one of the top rated by the American Alliance of Museums and was a founding member of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience.

The museum has five permanent exhibitions that include 260 artefacts, 40 film installations, oral histories and interactive media to guide visitors through five centuries of history. The exhibitions explore Civil Rights protest techniques- including sit ins, bus boycotts and freedom rides- as well as the Black Power movement and the assasination of Martin Luther King Jr. and its aftermath on the Civil Rights movement.

The first exhibition that visitors enter explores the longer 'Culture of Resistance' that was present in the United States prior to the Civil Rights movement, as seen through resistance to the system of slavery that dominated the country for centuries. Focussing on the period 1619-1869, the exhibition includes large scale interactive maps that emphasise the global impact of the transatlantic slave trade. There are films and art installations in the form of sculptures that show the terrible conditions inflicted on the enslaved people. Illuminated channels provide statistics and further information, including the number of people captured, goods cultivated and wealth created.

The museum also has facilities for temporary exhibitions, both on the site and online, and runs an immersive education programme for both children and adults.

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National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum

The National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum occupies the upper floor of the former Presbyterian Church of Smithfield, built in 1820. In 1835 it was the site of the first complete meeting of the New York State Anti-Slavery Society, and it opened as a museum to represent the history of the abolition movement in 2004. The lower floor houses the Smithfield Community Centre. In 1994, the building was added to the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places. In 2004, it was designated as a site on the New York State Underground Railroad Heritage Trail.

The Hall of Fame and Museum honours abolitionists and their achievements, periodically inducting new members. It also aims to educate about the legacy of the movement and to inspire its visitors to engage in the 'new struggle' to end racism. The museum features an introductory film that provides background context to the abolition movement, regarding the transatlantic slave trade. Written text panels, archival materials and art are used to add further depth to the narrative of the American abolition movement.

The museum also runs a programme of visitor events, and education activities.

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Museum of Slavery

The Museum of Slavery in the village of Albreda first opened in 1996. It is housed in the Maurel Fréres building which was built by the British colonial government in the 1840s. Only a short distance from Juffure, the home of Kunta Kinte - the main character of Alex Haley's 'Roots' - the museum is dedicated to interpreting the history of transatlantic slavery in the area. It is a hub for students and researchers.

The museum's displays use a collection of artefacts to examine the process of enslavement, with particular focus on capture and the Middle Passage. These artefacts include chain neck collars, foot cuffs, yokes and manillas. The museum also has a display about 'Roots'.

Guided tours are regularly welcomed to the museum. Visitors are also frequently taken to visit the nearby 'factory' ruins which was once used as a slave station by French and British colonial administrations.

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Museum of Saint Helena

The Museum of Saint Helena originated as a small natural history collection in 1854. Over the last 150 years it has moved three times before being officially opened in its current site in 2002 to mark the 500th anniversary of the island's discovery. It is housed in an eighteenth-century former power station in the island's capital, Jamestown. The museum explores the history of St Helena and it's position in the world. It has a large collection of physical artefacts supplemented by a digital archive of images, videos and audio.

The permanent exhibition offers a chronological view of Saint Helena's history, beginning with its geological development. The displays then explore the discovery of the island by European's, the role of the East India Company and migration. There is also a display about Napoleon Bonaparte's exile to Saint Helena.

Within the displays about colonisation and the East India Company are mentions of enslaved Africans brought to the island. Abolition and emancipation are also examined, as the interpretation moves on to explore the diverse make up of Saint Helena's population into the twentieth century. These displays are supported with artefacts and finds from recent archaeological digs on the island.

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Museum of Modern Day Slavery

The Museum of Modern Day Slavery opened in 2014. It is managed by Elijah Rising, a prayer gathering that aims to end sex trafficking through prayer, awareness, intervention, and restoration. The museum is a big part of that mission and is housed in a former brothel that Elijah Rising negotiated the closure of in 2012. It is the only museum in the USA dedicated solely to interpreting and raising awareness for slavery in the present day.

The location of the museum provides visitors with a rare opportunity to see inside a brothel. Throughout, there is text interpretation that provides information about sex trafficking in Houston. This is supported by a small collection of artefacts that have been collected by the museum's staff and volunteers when conducting field research with victims of trafficking in the city. The museum also draws attention to the victories of abolitionists in the past through text panels to inspire visitors to take action to end slavery in the present.

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Museum of Antigua and Barbuda

Housed in the former courthouse of Antigua's capital, St John's, the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda opened in 1985. Managed by the Historical and Archaeological Society, it interprets the history of Antigua from the island's geological birth until its political independence in 1967. Collecting is central to the museum's ethos and it has developed a large collection of items relating to its local history through acquisitions and donations. It also has a digital records library with over 25,000 records available to browse.

The exhibits themselves trace the history of Antigua chronologically. The first gallery maps the geological development of the island using natural history specimen and artist interpretations alongside text panels. There are also displays that showcase the traditional crafts of the island, including basket weaving.

The second gallery then explores the arrival of the Europeans to the island and the development of the plantation economy fueled by the transatlantic slave trade. Here the displays examine what life was like on the plantations, using objects that highlight the brutal nature of enslavement, as well as archaeological samples that provide an insight into the everyday life of the enslaved. Some text panels provide information about instances of resistance, alongside images of supporting archival sources.

The final gallery explores how the island developed following the abolition and then the emancipation of the slave trade, two world wars and political independence. Here, objects are complemented with oral testimonies from local people.

The museum also has a gallery for temporary exhibitions focussing on different aspects of Antigua and Barbuda's local history. It also runs a programme of community events, and a series of education sessions for schools.

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Museu Afro Brasil

First opened in 2004, the Museu Afro Brasil is a contemporary museum which seeks to showcase the contributions of black communities to Brazil and its culture. There are over six thousand objects in the collection, including paintings, sculpture, photographs, ceramics and textiles. Through all of these items the museum illustrates the creative nature of Brazilian people. The exhibitions grew from the private collection of visual artist Emanoel Araujo who has led the museum as Director since its opening. The site also houses a theatre and a specialised library.

In its permanent exhibition space, which displays around seventy percent of its collections, the Museu Afro Brasil emphasises the rich culture of the African continent from the fifteenth century through to today. There are a variety of art mediums and artefacts on display, including masks, sculpture, jewellery and archival material.

These objects link to social themes, such as celebrations and religions, amongst communities of African descent in Brazil. There is also a section that explores the memory of key figures in the Afro-Brazilian community. Another explores the work done by these communities. Historically, this area examines the work done when many African people in Brazil were enslaved. The display features a model sugar mill, different kinds of tools for use on plantations, and sugar loaf moulds.

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Museo Nacional Ruta del Esclavo

The Museo Nacional Ruta del Esclavo (Slave Route National Museum) is housed in San Severino Castle, in the Matanzas district of Cuba. It opened in 2009, as the product of UNESCO's Slave Route project. Off the beaten tourist track, the museum in the seventeenth-century castle receives few visitors.

The museum itself houses an important exhibition, aimed at showcasing the horrors of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in order to prevent the like ever happening again. The museum has four exhibition rooms with photographs, objects and archaeological items accompanied by interpretive text. These rooms address the origins of slavery, the plantation systems, abolition and emancipation, and the ongoing legacies affecting people of African heritage around the world.

After being selected by UNESCO to house interpretation for the Slave Route project, the museum has supported a number of African cultural groups in the local area, as well as hosting activities for the nearby university. In the exhibition space itself, there are fourteen African sculptures donated by Cuban artist Lorenzo Padilla.