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White people walk in Yokes and Chains to apologise for slavery

The final stage of the epic seven-year Lifeline Expedition journey will conclude with the March of the Abolitionists, a National Project for the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade. The Lifeline Expedition is a Christian response to the legacy of the Atlantic Slave Trade. After the first Jubilee 2000 Lifeline walk in England, teams of Africans, descendants of enslaved Africans and white people have journeyed to slavery sites in France (2002), Spain & Portugal (2003), USA (2004), the Caribbean Region (2005) and West Africa (2006).

The first stage of the March of the Abolitionists will begin in Hull, the birthplace of William Wilberforce, on March 1st at Holy Trinity Church at 09:00. White team members will don yokes and chains and attempt a journey of over 250 miles to London, recalling the gruelling journeys of enslaved Africans, during the period of the Atlantic Slave Trade. Their penitential action, appropriately taking place in the season of Lent, will also draw attention to the estimated 12 million people still in slavery today. The journey will end in Westminster on March 24th when the team will join the Walk of Witness led by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. (see www.makingourmark.org.uk).

Lady Kate Davson (the great, great, great granddaughter of William Wilberforce) will walk in the yokes and chains at the outset of the march in Hull.

The second stage of the March, called the Sankofa Reconciliation Walk, takes place between 4 June and 11 July and will link the former slave ports of London, Bristol, and Liverpool.

The purposes of the March are:
- to bring an apology for the slave trade (especially the role of the Church) and to help those we meet deal with its legacy.
- to engage with schools, public forums and the media about the true history of slavery and abolition, promoting greater understanding, reconciliation and forgiveness.
- to remember the black and white abolitionists of 200 years ago and wholeheartedly support the current campaigns seeking to end the atrocity of contemporary slavery.

The March organisers welcome people to walk with the core team as they pass through their localities. They also hope to organize a continuous schools relay along the Hull to London route. Schools who participate in the March will be given an educational DVD about the legacy of the slave trade and the work of the Lifeline Expedition.

The Lifeline Expedition has received extensive publicity in recent years, including the story about Andrew Hawkins (a descendant of England's first slave trader, Sir John Hawkins) who made an apology for the slave trade in the Gambia at the International Roots Festival (click here for more on this story).

The March of the Abolitionists is a huge undertaking and walking in yokes and chains in March will be challenging. David Pott, Project Leader, comments, “I have been reminded that it is normal that expeditions involve risks - slave trading expeditions were risky ventures, so as we seek to undo the damage initiated by the slave trade, it should be no surprise that we face challenges. However, on our journey, we will not suffer a fraction of what slaves went through.”

For more on the walks, visit www.lifelineexpedition.co.uk/mota.
For more on the Lifeline Expedition, visit www.lifelineexpedition.co.uk.
Email: lifelinex@fountaingate.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0)208 694 2220 (up to 25 Feb); +44 (0)7977 915474 (after 25 Feb)