This Black History Month we are sharing the BBC's Moira Stuart In Search of Wilberforce a documentary exploring Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade and the contribution made by William Wilberforce to the Abolition movement. Our Chair of Trustees, Pam Fraser Solomon (link), developed the programme for BBC2 from her original research and she was an executive producer of the documentary.

This 2007 documentary coincided with the 200th anniversary of the British bill to ban the slave trade. Moira Stuart - the first African-Caribbean female newsreader to appear nationally on British television and radio - takes us on a journey across continents seeking answers to difficult questions.

According to a review by the Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past(link):

“The documentary is well-structured and the informed questioning by Stuart enables a debunking of the Wilberforce legend and a challenge to the myopia in Britain which focuses upon the abolitionists rather than those who were enslaved. This valorisation of Wilberforce is challenged at the opening of the programme with Stuart asserting that, 'history didn't happen that way', and that a focus on the abolitionist is, 'not the full story’.” 

The documentary goes on to examine the violence that persisted beyond abolition, and the enslaved people’s determination to destroy the system that was oppressing them.  

"Black History Month is a season for stories from our shared past that consciously acknowledges the experience and contribution of Black people. Theatre Deli has embraced Black History Month because it is an opportunity for us all to interact with events that have previously been written out of history.“ 

Pam Fraser Solomon, Chair, Theatre Deli