He said that horror stories are one of suffering and injustice that shows humanity at its worst.
“But it’s also the history of fear-inspiring courage that shows humanity at their best – starting with the human slave who rose against difficult odds and extended to the abolitionists who speak out against this heinous crime,” he added.
A ‘bad job’
For more than 400 years, more than 13 million Africans were sold across the Atlantic Ocean in what the Secretary-General called “the evil service of slavery”.
Men, women and children were “torn from their families and their homelands – their communities torn apart, their bodies mutilated, their humanity denied.”
The memorial is in Stone Town, Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania. Photo: Israa Hamad
A haunting heritage
“The legacy of the transatlantic slave trade haunts us to this day. We can draw a line directly from centuries of colonial exploitation to today’s social and economic inequalities,” he said.
“And we can identify popular racist communities to explain the brutal nature of the slave trade white supremacist hatred that is resurrection”, he added.
Mr. Guterres stressed that it is the duty of all people to fight the war of terror of racism, using it the “powerful weapon” of education – the theme of this year’s commemoration.
Unite against racism
He said that learning the history of slavery can “help guard against the worst human impulses.
“By studying the ideas and beliefs that have made the culture flourish for centuries, we Unmask the racism of our time,” he added. “And by honoring those who were enslaved, we restore some dignity to those who were mercilessly freed.”
The Secretary-General called for people everywhere to “stand united against racism and together build a world in which everyone, everywhere can live a life of freedom, dignity, and human rights.”
UN commemorative event
The UN has organized a series of events to commemorate World Day.
On Monday, the UN General Assembly will hold a conference where Brazilian intellectual and journalist, Professor Djamila Ribeiro, will deliver the keynote address.
Ms. Ribeiro has been using the power of education to fight discrimination against Brazilians, including through her best-selling book titled ‘Little Anti-Racist Manual’ and her Instagram account, which attracts more than A million goes.
American university student Taylor Cassidy, recognized as one of TikTok’s 2020 Top 10 Voices of Change, will present the youth address. Ms. Cassidy is empowering her two million followers with uplifting videos on black history.
On Thursday, Bryan Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director of Equal Justice – a non-profit working to end mass discrimination in the United States – will be the featured speaker and participant in a panel discussion highlighting the efforts by museums to have the objects. of the people of Africa and deal with the colonial past.
Other panelists will include the Director General of the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands, Taco Dibbits, and the Head of its History Department, Valika Smeulders.
The 2023 commemoration began in late February with the opening of an interactive exhibition titled Mission: Ten True Stories of the Dutch Colonial Mission, brought to the UN by the museum, which is located in Amsterdam.
