Confronting our past, transforming our future
In 2018, we embarked on a groundbreaking journey of self-reflection and action by publishing our Slavery, Abolition and the University of Glasgow report and recommendations, becoming the first British university to comprehensively investigate our historical links to slavery. This pivotal moment gave birth to the Beniba Centre for Slavery Studies.
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“The Beniba Centre for Slavery Studies is more than a research institution. We are a catalyst for change, a space where the silenced voices of history can finally be heard and amplified. Our work spans centuries and continents, examining not just the transatlantic slave trade but also its far-reaching tentacles into every aspect of our modern world.”
DR PEGGY BRUNACHE, DIRECTOR OF THE BENIBA CENTRE FOR SLAVERY STUDIES
A beacon of reparative justice
The Beniba Centre for Slavery Studies is a dedicated hub for research and education on this complex history. Our centre is named after Beniba, an enslaved mother and field labourer owned by an 18th-century former rector of the University. It stands as a testament to our commitment to highlighting and honouring the experiences, voices and legacies of enslaved Africans and their descendants. This naming is not merely symbolic; it represents a fundamental shift in how we approach the study of slavery and its enduring impacts at the University of Glasgow. We centre the nuanced and dynamic experiences of enslaved Africans and their descendants too often erased or silenced in archives of slavery. When you say the name ‘Beniba’, you speak her back into existence. Our research highlights Black contributions to society, past and present, that challenge structural modes of racial oppression and inequality. As a key component of the University’s reparative justice initiative, we are committed to:
• Rigorous, interdisciplinary research: We delve into the complexities of slavery’s history, its abolition and its ongoing legacies.
• Education and awareness: We are dedicated to decolonising curricula, providing resources for educators and engaging the public in nuanced discussions about slavery’s impact.
• Community engagement: We actively collaborate with communities, particularly those of African and Caribbean descent, to address ongoing inequalities and injustices.
• Policy influence: Our research and advocacy aim to shape policies at local, national and international levels.
• Global partnerships: We foster collaborations with institutions worldwide, particularly in the Caribbean through our partnership with the University of the West Indies, to ensure our work is truly global in scope and impact.
Pioneering research: uncovering hidden histories
• Resistance to slavery: Exploring the multitude of defiant acts to either bring about a revolutionary end to slavery or assert complex and nuanced strategies for contesting enslavement through subversive and clandestine ways.
• Dark roots of global commodities: Revealing links between commodities such as coffee, linen and oil with slavery and forced labour and their ongoing legacies in modern economic systems.
• Slavery in Scotland: Highlighting stories of enslaved Africans labouring in Scottish cities and the rural areas.
• Struggles over slavery in Sierra Leone: Analysing the complex dynamics of abolition, colonisation and the ‘repatriation’ of formerly enslaved people to West Africa.
• Runaways London: Tracing the journeys of enslaved individuals who sought freedom in 18th- and 19th-century Britain.
• Liberated Africans in Grenada: Underscoring the experiences and cultural legacies of the understudied population of liberated Africans sent to the island of Grenada during the post.
“The Beniba Centre for Slavery Studies stands as a beacon of reparative justice, unearthing hidden histories and transforming education to confront the legacies of slavery. Through rigorous research, global partnerships and community engagement, the centre is not just studying the past – it’s actively shaping a more equitable future.”
PROFESSOR JO GILL, VICE PRINCIPAL & HEAD OF THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & HUMANITIES
EDUCATION FOR CHANGE
In 2020, the Beniba Centre for Slavery Studies and its academics launched a groundbreaking free online course with the University of the West Indies to explore the history of British colonial slavery in the Caribbean, revealing its deep connections to racial inequalities and current global protests.
This transformative course takes participants on a 350-year journey from West Africa and the Caribbean through the Windrush Generation to the present day. The four-week free online course on the FutureLearn platform – History of Slavery in the British Caribbean – is open to everyone. This course delves into the renewed debate in the UK about colonial symbols and the impact of global Black Lives Matter protests, encouraging reflection on the country’s history of racism rooted in slavery.
Then in 2023, the Universities of Glasgow and the West Indies joined forces again to welcome the first students to the world’s pioneering master’s programme in Reparative Justice. The Reparatory Justice MSc/MA programme is an innovative field of study aimed at students passionate about reparative justice from diverse backgrounds, disciplines and interests.
This programme offers:
• Study opportunities at campuses in Barbados, Glasgow or Jamaica.
• Access to unparalleled primary sources and archives.
• Instruction from world-leading experts in slavery studies and reparative justice at the University of the West Indies and Beniba Centre for Slavery Studies.
• Practical skills development in archival research, policy analysis and community engagement. This initiative marks a significant step towards understanding and addressing the historical and ongoing impacts of slavery and racism