Robert Wedderburn came a long way to find out that his father was a bastard. Born in Jamaica, as a young man Robert made his way to London. He was press-ganged by the Royal Navy, forced to fight for the British in the American Revolution, in 1782. After the war ended a year later, he managed to escape from his ship in Barbados. He returned to London to his wife Elizabeth, who … [Read more...] about Two worlds collide or stories Geoff Palmer told
slavery
Flawed plan to ‘explain and retain’ controversial statues
The long-awaited government guidance on the official “retain and explain” policy suggests the UK’s contested statues and monuments be retained as long as additional context is provided. But given their controversial past, how do we go about that? Done properly and creatively, with adequate funding and accurate, innovative storytelling, this could throw light on the different … [Read more...] about Flawed plan to ‘explain and retain’ controversial statues
How the first African American doctor fought for women’s rights in Glasgow
James McCune Smith was the first African American to receive a medical doctorate from a university. Born in 1813 to a poor South Carolina runaway slave who had escaped to New York City, he went on to attend Glasgow University during the 1830s. When he returned to America, he became a leading black physician, a tireless abolitionist, activist and journalist. McCune Smith led an … [Read more...] about How the first African American doctor fought for women’s rights in Glasgow
Monumental follies 2
The current iconoclastic spasm over our civic statuary appears to be part of a pattern which requires us to be burdened with the guilt of Scotland’s past misdeeds since many of our countrymen were indeed involved in the slave trade. It’s undeniable that many individual Scots profited from the slave trade, either as plantation owners in America and the West Indies, or as dealers … [Read more...] about Monumental follies 2
Monumental follies 1
Pygmalion, Don Giovanni’s singing stookie, and Jackie Kay’s ‘mythical stone statue that is turning into a person before my eyes’ in her memoir Red Dust Road excepted, statues are inanimate, can’t engage in political discourse, and make easy targets. Many offend our modern liberal and radical sensibilities. Others are useful virtue-signalling distractions for those who like to … [Read more...] about Monumental follies 1