How Do We Talk About the Transatlantic Slave Trade Appropriately and Sensitively?

What is this resource about?

This resource is for heritage organisations who wish to undertake work on the history and legacy of the transatlantic slave trade, which we know is an emotive and challenging subject.

As such, this page outlines some approaches to ensuring participants in your heritage project feel supported.

What are the key points?

What was the transatlantic slave trade?

'The transatlantic slave trade' is the term used to describe events between 1500 and 1900. The transatlantic slave trade saw millions of people forcibly taken from West Africa and West Central Africa by Europeans and shipped to the Americas to be sold as slaves under conditions of great suffering and cruelty.

The term 'transatlantic slave trade' is used to differentiate the events from other historic instances of enslaved people, as well as modern slavery.

Read more about the transatlantic slave trade

How to talk about the transatlantic slave trade

The transatlantic slave trade is a topic that will conjure up strong emotions. Heritage projects on the transatlantic slave trade will involve distressing documents and images. Owing to the human suffering that took place, participants in projects may feel uncomfortable at times.

It is important that the painful nature of this topic doesn't prevent the transatlantic slave trade from being studied or discussed, as the legacy of the events still impacts people today.

Talking about the transatlantic slave trade, therefore, should be approached with sensitivity and openness to ensure that knowledge, emotions, and perspectives can be shared safely and respectably.

Using the correct language

• It is important to ensure that the correct language is used when discussing the transatlantic slave trade or any other historic event that may be upsetting or that still impacts people in the present day
• It is important to discuss racism and racial stereotypes, how such things were used to justify the transatlantic slave trade, and how they are still common today
• For example, using the word 'slave' to describe a person dehumanises that person and takes away their identity and history. Instead, use the term 'enslaved Africans'
• Read an Appropriate Language Guide by National Museums Liverpool
• Read a glossary of terms by Nottingham Museums

Creating a safe environment

The transatlantic slave trade is a topic that can evoke many different emotional responses. Discussing and exploring the history and impacts can lead to challenging and distressing conversations, so a safe environment is absolutely key. This does not mean that there is no room for challenging discussions, but there should be ground rules for establishing dignity and respect, the use of facts instead of stereotypes, and the opportunity for any individual to remove themselves should they need to.

Approaching discussions in your heritage project about the transatlantic slave trade should begin with open and friendly discussions about human rights, respect, and racism, with established expectations of conduct. There is a chance that participants may respond inappropriately to the content they are being shown or are engaging with if they are unaware of the context and the suffering involved. Approach discussions around the transatlantic slave trade by being upfront about the potentially upsetting nature of the topic, including advanced knowledge of any distressing images that may be used.

Depending on their relationship with these difficult histories, participants may feel alienated and unable to participate in discussions. It is important not to create an atmosphere where participants feel divided based on race.

Similarly, participants may react differently to the stories that emerge in your work. These reactions are all valid, and an environment that understands this benefits all involved.

There are some key ways to ensure discussions around the transatlantic slave trade are safe and inclusive:

• You may wish to create support structures for those who find the topic particularly emotional, such as working with providers of or signposting to specialist support or having
• You may want to establish a mentoring or buddying system for participants so they have a trusted person to talk to
• Create openness and understanding around the need of some participants to sit out of anything they find particularly distressing
• Create an environment in which participants feel comfortable enough to discuss their feelings and viewpoints when discussing the transatlantic slave trade. It is important to ensure people are not interrupted or feel unheard
• Draw up a workshop or meeting charter to outline the expected behaviours of your participants and include them in shaping it

Approaching the subject with respect

• When handling any artefacts, documents or images relating to the transatlantic slave trade or working in places connected to the transatlantic slave trade, ensure that they are handled and viewed with respect and dignity to highlight the importance and sensitivity of the topic
• When showing footage or images, it is important to ensure the setting and environment is one that creates opportunities for contemplation and sensitivity
• People may react to uncomfortable topics and imagery in a way that initially seems disrespectful. However, this can be an emotional reaction. It is important not to penalise those who react unexpectedly but rather speak openly to understand where these reactions are coming from

Contextualising the history

• The transatlantic slave trade should not be taught as a separate Black history or as a standalone history at all. The transatlantic slave trade impacted millions of people across the globe, from different countries and of various ethnicities. The ripples of this period still impact communities to this day
• For example, many African diaspora across Europe and the Americas can trace their family’s movement to the origins of being enslaved, and many statues, buildings, street names, and graves in the United Kingdom have links to the transatlantic slave trade. Read more about the slave trade and abolition
• Whenever possible, the transatlantic slave trade and the enslaved Africans it involved should be spoken of not as statistics or nameless figures in history books but as individual people with agency, thoughts, families, and a variety of experiences

Acknowledging White Privilege

• 'White Privilege' is a term used to describe the advantage granted to those who resemble those who hold power in institutions historically and in the present
• White Privilege does not mean that White people haven't had struggles or disadvantages in their individual lives; instead, it acknowledges that society is structured in a way that systemically favours White people
• White Privilege applies today in modern society and applied during the transatlantic slave trade, in which the captors were White, and the enslaved people were Black
• It is important to acknowledge, from the start, that White Privilege is held by some of those within the project or the setting you are working within. Read more about White Privilege

Further reading

Terminology - Black British History in the 18th and 19th Centuries | Historic England
A useful guide to the terminology of the transatlantic slave trade by Historic England

Legacies of the Slave Trade - Ending Slavery | Historic England
Further information on the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade by Historic England

The Slave Trade and Abolition | Historic England
Further information on the history of the transatlantic slave trade by Historic England

Reading List – The Slave Trade and Abolition | Historic England
A useful list of further resources on the transatlantic slave trade by Historic England

ISM-guidance-subject-sensitivity-language-24-Oct-22.pdf (liverpoolmuseums.org.uk)
Liverpool Museum's guide to sensitive language

A Glossary of Terminology for Understanding Transatlantic Slavery and 'Race' - Nottingham Museums
Nottingham Museum's Glossary of transatlantic slave trade Terminology

Legacies. Understanding Slavery Initiative
Information on the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade by Understanding Slavery Initiative

Sensitivities. Understanding Slavery Initiative
Information on race, racism, and the sensitivities around discussing the transatlantic slave trade by Understanding Slavery Initiative