Slavery justice: ‘It’s time, Mr Drax.’
In a unique initiative, this week Dorset is linked direct to the Caribbean as campaigners challenge Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset, about his ownership of the Drax Hall estate in Barbados.
Barbadian MP Trevor Prescod will address a rally on Saturday 17 July outside Drax’s Charborough Park estate in Dorset. Other key speakers include Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC; Luke Daniels, president of Caribbean Labour Solidarity; and Weyman Bennett, national convenor of Stand Up To Racism.
Campaigners in Dorset and in the Caribbean are asking Richard Drax to pass his 621-acre Drax Hall estate to the people of Barbados. Trevor Prescod says: “The Drax family established this estate as a sugar plantation more than 400 years ago and for much of this time it was cultivated by slave labour. Drax still owns and benefits from the estate. We say: it’s time to place the estate with the people of the community, so that it can be used for their benefit instead of for profit.”
Many people in the Drax Hall community are descendants of those earlier enslaved. Prescod says: “Drax Hall witnessed terrible pain and suffering – and people today still experience disadvantage that is the outcome of generations of slavery. We ask Mr Drax to show moral leadership and to discuss with us how to address the legacy of chattel slavery.”
The march and rally on Saturday is organised by Stand Up To Racism Dorset and the South-West TUC. Organisations from across Dorset and the South-West region are participating and the event will be live-streamed to the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival, online this year.
Lynne Hubbard is co-chair of Stand Up To Racism Dorset. She says: “Richard Drax is believed to be the richest MP in parliament, with a fortune of over £150 million. He owns 15,000 acres of Dorset farmland and properties across the county. He still benefits from Drax Hall plantation in Barbados, which has a shocking history of racism and exploitation.
“Richard Drax has not responded to polite requests to discuss the future of Drax Hall estate. We are rallying peacefully on Saturday to express a growing view that, in the 21st century, it’s time to address generations of injustice. We ask those who agree to join us. And we say: ‘It’s time, Mr Drax’.”
Nigel Costley is secretary of the South-West TUC and will also be speaking at Saturday’s rally. He says: “No one can be held responsible for the actions of their ancestors. But Richard Drax is still sitting on the mountain of gold gained from the horrors of slavery. It’s time he paid some back.”
The march on Saturday 17 July assembles at 11.30am at Winterborne Zelston near the World’s End pub, DT11 9EW, to rally outside Charborough Park. Full details on Facebook: https://fb.me/e/2tbDT5Gkw
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