Liverpool will once again come together this August to mark Slavery Remembrance Day, with a week-long programme of events celebrating resilience, remembrance and community. Running from 17 to 23 August, the programme will bring together residents, artists, researchers and community organisations to reflect on the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade and honour the lives and experiences of enslaved people. The programme includes public lectures, workshops, performances and the annual Walk of Remembrance, which invites people from across the city to take part in an act of remembrance, reflection and solidarity.
New for 2026 is the Slavery Remembrance Summer School, a week-long project for young people aged 12 to 19 delivered in partnership with The Black-E. Through movement and performance workshops, participants will explore themes of identity, legacy and belonging before showcasing their work during the Walk of Remembrance on Sunday 23 August.
This year’s programme comes as the International Slavery Museum remains closed for redevelopment as part of the Waterfront Transformation Project. While work continues ahead of its planned reopening in 2029, Slavery Remembrance Day provides an opportunity for the stories and histories at the heart of the museum to continue to be shared and understood.
A highlight of the programme will be the Dorothy Kuya Slavery Remembrance Memorial Lecture at Liverpool Town Hall on Friday 21 August, featuring acclaimed scholar and cultural historian Anita Gonzalez. Named in honour of Liverpool educator and anti-racism campaigner Dorothy Kuya, the annual lecture continues her legacy of using education and public engagement to challenge injustice.
Anita Gonzalez (Ph.D) said: “Black lives have always been culturally resilient. We mobilise our stories internally for community building and externally for social justice. It is an honour to be the guest speaker at Liverpool’s Slavery Remembrance Day. Activists like Dorothy Kuya demonstrate the ongoing resilience of Black people, and transnational activism has always been the path forward for animating networks of social justice.”
Michelle Charters, OBE, Head of International Slavery Museum said: “It’s fitting that while International Slavery Museum’s doors are closed, we have gone big with this year’s programme. From Anita Gonzalez’s internationally respected research and creative practice, that speak directly to the themes of remembrance, resistance and cultural survival, to our very first summer school that will engage our local young people to play a symbolic part within the Walk of Remembrance, the programme is full of energy, meaning and purpose.
“Slavery Remembrance Day is as important as ever in a city continuing to confront its historic role in slavery and it feels vital that we create these spaces for reflection, dialogue and learning.”
Programme highlights
> Slavery Remembrance Summer School
17 to 21 August, 10am to 3pm, The Black-E
>Dorothy Kuya Slavery Remembrance Memorial Lecture
21 August, 5.30pm to 7.30pm, Liverpool Town Hall
>What does successful community-led research look like?
22 August, 11am to 2pm, Museum of Liverpool
>Walk of Remembrance
23 August, 12 noon, Williamson Square
>Connector Pilot Launch
23 August, 3pm to 5pm, Museum of Liverpool
Find out more and view the full programme at National Museums Liverpool Slavery Remembrance Day programme.
