Lifeline Expedition is a non-profit organization founded in 1997 by

Briton British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, w ...

David Pott. The group believes white people must apologize for the

Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...

, and that forgiveness can be granted by black people from areas that were involved in it. It brings together teams of

Africans The ethnic groups of Africa number in the thousands, with each ethnicity generally having their own language (or dialect of a language) and culture. The ethnolinguistic groups include various Afroasiatic, Khoisan, Niger-Congo, and Nilo-Sahara ...

, descendants of enslaved Africans and

white people White is a Race (human categorization), racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry. It is also a Human skin color, skin color specifier, although the definition can var ...

from the three former corners of the slave triangle and over a period of seven years has visited many significant slavery sites around the Atlantic world. Controversy has emerged over the fact that white people, including children, on the teams wore replica yokes and chains to express apology for the role of whites in the slave trade.

The journeys

The first part of the journey was the

Jubilee 2000 Jubilee 2000 was an international coalition movement in over 40 countries that called for cancellation of third world debt by the year 2000. This movement coincided with the Great Jubilee, the celebration of the year 2000 in the Catholic Church. ...

Lifeline Walk along the

Greenwich meridian The Greenwich meridian is a prime meridian, a geographical reference line that passes through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in London, England. From 1884 to 1974, the Greenwich meridian was the international standard prime meridian, ...

line in England. Journeys followed in France (2002), Spain and Portugal (2003), the United States (2004), the Caribbean region (2005) and West Africa (2006). The seven-year circuit of the Atlantic world concluded with the March of the Abolitionists, a National Project for the Bicentenary of the British

Abolition of the Slave Trade Act The Slave Trade Act 1807 ( 47 Geo. 3 Sess. 1. c. 36), or the Abolition of Slave Trade Act 1807, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom prohibiting the Atlantic slave trade in the British Empire. Although it did not automatica ...

in 2007. The first journey to attract worldwide attention was the journey to the United States which began in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, where Lifeline Expedition partnered with the

Kunta Kinte Kunta Kinte ( ) is the main character from the 1976 novel '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family'' by American author Alex Haley. Kunta Kinte was based on family oral tradition accounts of one of Haley's ancestors, a Gambian man who was born ...

Alex Haley Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family.'' ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and ...

Foundation in a reconciliation march on 29 September 2004. The event was opposed by groups such as the

National Alliance National Alliance may refer to: Electoral alliances *National Alliance (Egypt) (2015) * National Alliance (Ireland) (2024 onwards) * National Alliance (Pakistan) (2002-2004) *Nation Alliance (Turkey) (2018-2023) Political parties and organizations ...

who counter demonstrated with placards reading "You are Entering a White Guilt Zone" and "White Pride". In May 2006, the Lifeline Expedition team made an apology at the opening ceremony of the International Roots Festival in

The Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

. Apologies were given by English, French, German and American representatives as those nations were prominent in the slave trade in that region. The Vice-President of The Gambia, Dr Isatou Njie Saidy, accepted the apology and released the team from the yokes and chains. One of those giving the apology was Andrew Hawkins, a direct descendant of England's first slave trader,

Sir John Hawkins Admiral Sir John Hawkins (also spelled Hawkyns) (1532 – 12 November 1595) was an English naval commander, naval administrator, privateer and slave trader. Hawkins pioneered, and was an early promoter of, English involvement in the Atlantic s ...

. The March of the Abolitionists in 2007 began in

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

, the birthplace of

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780 ...

, on 1 March. The walkers then walked 250 miles in yokes and chains, recalling the gruelling journeys of enslaved Africans, during the period of the Atlantic Slave Trade. Their penitential action took place in the season of Lent and, as well as expressing apology, also drew attention to the estimated 12 million people still in slavery today. The journey ended in Westminster on 24 March, when the team joined the Walk of Witness led by the Archbishops of

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. The walkers were released from the yoke and chains by the Archbishop of the West Indies. The second part of the March of the Abolitionists (the Sankofa Reconciliation Walk) took place in June and July and visited all the major former slave ports.

References

External links

* {{official, http://www.lifelineexpedition.co.uk/mota
Yokesandchains.com

Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Foundation
Non-profit organisations based in England Organizations established in 1997 Atlantic slave trade

The journeys

See also

References

External links