Black Lives Matter: time for a memorial to black leader of London Chartism, William Cuffay
It’s the 150th anniversary of the death of the black leader of London Chartism William Cuffay.
He died in Tasmania where he had been transported for his alleged part in the fight for the vote in 1848. He received a Royal Pardon in 1854.
The current Black Lives Matter wave of protest in America has seen further pressure to take down statues of racist figures going back to the US Civil War.
That was echoed in Britain with the toppling of a statue of the slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol on Sunday:
https://kmflett.wordpress.com/2020/06/07/edward-colston-statues-are-for-heroes-heroines-not-zeros/
If memorials to racists are rightly dismantled surely it is also time to celebrate and mark the lives of prominent black people.
No memorial to William Cuffay exists in 2020 despite a lengthy campaign. Chatham his birth place would be an excellent location (see below)as would central London where he lived. There were plans to put up a plaque in the Strand but it appears the property owner refused permission.
Work still in progress and protest
Letter in the Guardian Tue 25 Nov 2014
In his victory speech at Rochester on Friday, Mark Reckless argued that Ukip stood in the radical tradition of the Chartists (Difference between Tories and Ukip? A fabricated chasm, 22 November). That gives Ukip a rare opportunity to puts its money where its mouth is.
Chatham was the home town of one of the most famous Chartists, William Cuffay. Cuffay’s father, a former slave, had travelled to Medway as a cook on a British navy ship, and married a local woman. Cuffay learned his trade as a tailor and he became a prominent trade unionist in London. He went on to become the organiser of London Chartism and was arrested and deported to Tasmania for his role in an attempt at armed revolt in central London in August 1848. He continued to be active in Hobart as a trade unionist until his death in 1871.
Surely Mr Reckless will want to ensure a statue of this great Chartist is promptly erected in his constituency?
Keith Flett
I would love to see recognition in Medway for William Cuffay – an inspirational activist as part of the Chartist movement.
2020 is the 150th Anniversary of his death and I hope that as a community we take the opportunity to see him recognised appropriately.
Vince Maple
Shirin Hirsch on William Cuffay
https://phm.org.uk/blogposts/william-cuffay-black-chartism-and-a-treasured-object/
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