A series of activities was held last week to commemorate the United Nations’ International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Organised by the African Diaspora Heritage Trail, the events began with a lecture by visiting keynote speaker Alvin Thompson on Wednesday night at the Bermuda Industrial Union building.

The theme for 2017 was Remember Slavery: Recognising the Legacy and Contributions of People of African Descent.

On Friday, Dr Thompson, Professor Emeritus with the Department of History and Philosophy at the University of the West Indies, spoke with dozens of students from schools including the Berkeley Institute, CedarBridge Academy, and Saltus Grammar School.

“Students were treated to a visual display of the life of enslaved persons, sharing information which may not be part of the regular curriculum,” a statement released by the ADHT said.

The Ministry of Education’s Llewelyn Simmons and Lisa Marshall were both in attendance.

On Saturday, the ADHT hosted a fundraiser dinner in St George’s.

A commemorative church service was held Sunday at Cobbs Hill Methodist Church in Warwick.

The service included a reading of Philip Emeagwali’s “A World Without Black People” by Vanessa Gilbert. Discussing the “legacy and contributions of Bermudians of African descent”, Edna Simmons mentioned the men and women who constructed the church, as well as Clarence Orister Darrell, who was awarded the US patent for his bicycle pump in 1898.

“In thanking the church for its support each year in hosting this service, the ADHT presented a copy of Dr Thompson’s book to Mrs Edna Simmons and Mrs Carol DeSilva who each year organise the service,” the ADHT said.

According to the UN, the Transatlantic Slave Trade was the largest forced migration in history.

In commemoration of the memory of the victims, the General Assembly, in its resolution 62/122 in 2007, declared March 25 the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The resolution also called for an outreach programme to instil in future generations the “causes, consequences and lessons of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and to communicate the dangers of racism and prejudice”.