Places to Visit
To truly realise the breadth of black heritage in Liverpool there is a wide range of sites worth visiting. Liverpool has some of the finest museums outside of London and a waterfront designated as a World Heritage Site, a prestige shared by the Pyramids and the Great Wall of China. Many of these places are free of charge and we hope you will incorporate them into your visit to Liverpool.
The new International Slavery Museum, features new, dynamic and thought-provoking displays about the story of the transatlantic slave trade in which Liverpool played such a prominent part. Crucially, it includes new displays about the legacy of transatlantic slavery and addresses issues such as freedom, identity, human rights, reparations, racial discrimination and cultural change.
Like London's Guildhall, Liverpool Town Hall, 0151 225 5530, was at the centre of the city's trading activity. All of the city's mayors between 1787 and 1807 were involved in the slave trade. Built in 1754, the building's frieze shows African faces, elephants, crocodiles and lions representing Liverpool's African trading links.
For the art lover the Walker Art Gallery houses a selection of paintings that are connected with black history, from individuals such as slaves, servants and soldiers to subjects like the slave trade and religion.
The World Museum, formerly Liverpool Museum, really does live up to its name and is a truly world class museum. It has extensive collections which cover a diverse array of subjects, from archaeology and ethnology to the natural world. Particularly fascinating are the African displays in the World Cultures section.
Many people from West Africa, the Caribbean and America settled in Liverpool. St James Church, Toxteth, Liverpool was built between 1774-5 and many of these settlers were baptised here. The records and monuments of St James are evidence of the many reasons for this transatlantic migration, including Liverpool's involvement in the slave trade.
Outside the city centre in the heart of Anfield is Liverpoool Lighthouse, a centre that's the first performance and arts venue in Europe to specialise in the heritage and on-going legacy of Gospel Music as an all-embracing art form.
