I was honoured to give one of the keynote speeches for African Remembrance Day, an annual event held on Emancipation Day (1st August), at the London Museum Docklands. The Slavery Abolition Act came into force across the British Empire 190 years ago to the day. This day is an occasion to remember all those who were kidnapped, trafficked and tortured as a result of hundreds of years of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

It is also an invitation to remember those who grew rich from it. Instead of compensating slaves, the government took out its biggest ever loan to pay the slavers: £300bn in today’s money. We only finished paying off this loan in 2015. The legacy of slavery and colonialism persists in the continuing inequality and racism we face today. Building a world free from these things requires us to confront this history and work towards reparative justice to address its damaging legacy.