Equal?
A Black History Display at Englesea Brook Chapel and Museum of Primitive Methodism
In 2021 Englesea Brook created a display exploring the Black History of Primitive Methodism. Entitled “Equal?”, the display began by exploring Methodist opposition to, and campaigns for, the abolition of the slave trade and the emancipation of slaves. It brought to light Zilpha Elaw, an “American Female of Colour”, who wrote about the discrimination she experienced on account of her race and gender when preaching in British chapels in the 1840s. The difficulties of exploring PM missions to Africa were discussed and questions posed about how we can join with those we share our faith with today. The display ended by examining home missions within the UK, highlighting the Whitechapel Mission. A variety of artefacts were on display, including missionary collecting boxes, photographs, and Nigerian instruments and dishes.
The display opened in September 2021 and ran until October 2022.
Black History Digital Exhibition:
For those unable to attend the exhibition at Englesea Brook we created this digital version to give you a taste of the stories it contained.
Black History Month Videos
To mark Black History Month 2021 we posted our three Heritage Talks from Black History Month 2020 to our YouTube Channel as the Channel’s inaugural videos: