29 Mar 2024
 

On Thu 21 March we hosted a Schools Takeover Day to commemorate the site where the abolitionist Frederick Douglass spoke last on his UK tour. This takeover was designed to bring to life the importance of Liverpool’s position in black history. As part of the day the students from Archbishop Blanch School, The Blue Coat School, The Belvedere Academy and Notre Dame Catholic College heard talks from Laurence Westgaph (Liverpool Black History Research Group), Adeyinka Olushonde (Liverpool Black Men’s Group) and Dr Teena Cartwright-Terry (Chair of the theatres’ Diversity Action Group). They then took part in a creative workshop by Claire Beerjeraz (Spoken Word Artist) to explore poetry and share their voices on what they want to say, on the same site that Douglass spoke, through writing their own poetry and performing it to the group.

The purpose of the day was to educate students on who Douglass was, why and how we commemorate and to explore more of our local history and politics. Students commented that they found the day to be 'empowering' and 'a great learning experience'.

Hayley Lindley-Thornhill, Head of Young People and Community, said: 
"It was a fantastic day working with students from across the Liverpool City Region to further explore Frederick Douglass' history and to give young people an opportunity to share their voices. We plan to host this workshop every Spring Term to mark Douglass' time in the City and to continue to share his life and his influence on the world. Teachers who attended the workshop told us that they plan to build this history into their curriculum which is really exciting."

We are proud to share the voices of the young people through the poems that they created during their time with us.