Descendants

About Descendants

Descendants looks into our lives and our pasts and asks how we are connected to slavery. And, in turn, who does that mean our lives are connected to?

Publisher

BBC Radio 4

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

24 May 2021

Latest episode

28 May 2021

Latest episodes

8 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   28 May 2021

   Richard, Alasdair, and Jen

   Narrated by Yrsa Daley-Ward, the poet and writer introduces us to a network of lives, each one connected in one way or another through the legacy of Britain's role in slavery. In the final episode, the connections between histories bring us right back to the start - the 7th June 2020, and the day the Colston statue was toppled. Richard Pendlebury runs a charity for older people in Bristol, called The Anchor Society. In 1895 their member, J. Arrowsmith, paid for the Colston statue to be put up - 175 years after Colston's death. Alasdair was one of those who helped put it in the harbour, but he's also been looking into his own family history, and was surprised to see a very familiar name appear in his tree, back in the 17th Century. Assistant Producer: Rema Mukena Producer: Candace Wilson Series Producer: Polly Weston Editor: Kirsten Lass Academic consultants: Matthew Smith and Rachel Lang of the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery at UCL Additional genealogical research by Laura Berry Studio Manager: Michael Harrison

2. 

   28 May 2021

   Chidi, Than and The Bolton School

   Narrated by Yrsa Daley-Ward, the poet and writer introduces us to a network of lives, each one connected in one way or another through the legacy of Britain's role in slavery. Chidi grew up in London, and learned at an early age that he was descended from a late 19th Century Nigerian slave trader called Nwaubani Ogogo. He describes how he came to terms with this and the impact racial stereotyping has had on his life, while his history takes us back in time to a moment in the aftermath of the abolition of slavery, when his ancestor still had a license to trade enslaved people. The rush for Africa was beginning; Britain had turned its attention from the slave trade to palm oil. Nwaubani traded both, and was licensed to a British Corporation. British businesspeople were desperate to gain access to the palm oil which Nwaubani sold. One man in the North West of England had been trying to strike deals in Nigeria - he wanted to be able to control production and prices himself - and his company would eventually buy the corporation which was licensing Nwaubani. But in the meantime, he turned his attention to the Belgian Congo where King Leopold offered him everything he wanted. The man's name was William Lever - whose company, the Lever Brothers, would eventually become Unilever. Famous across the North of England for his philanthropic endeavours, students and alumni at the school re-founded by him - The Bolton School - are just coming to terms with his legacy. Not technically slavery, but not free labour either. Producers: Polly Weston, Candace Wilson, Rema Mukena Editor: Kirsten Lass Academic consultants: Matthew Smith and Rachel Lang of the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery at UCL Additional genealogical research by Laura Berry

3. 

   28 May 2021

   James Cleverly MP and Deadria Farmer-Paellmann

   One year on from the toppling of the Colston Statue in Bristol, Descendants asks... how close is each of us to the legacy of Britain's role in slavery? And who does that mean our lives are connected to? Yrsa Daley-Ward narrates seven episodes telling the stories of people whose lives today are all connected through this history and its legacy. Government Minister, James Cleverly, the first British MP of Sierra Leone descent, takes us back through his family history and the way his experiences of Sierra Leone helped shape his perspective on Britain and colonialism. It's a history which is directly linked to Britain's role in slavery, and its aftermath. He understands he is descended from the Mende tribe. A few thousand miles away, Deadria Farmer-Paellmann has also discovered she is descended from the Mende tribe - but her ancestors were enslaved and trafficked to South Carolina. The discovery becomes part of her life's mission to try to get reparations for the descendants of the enslaved. Producers: Polly Weston, Candace Wilson, Rema Mukena Editor: Kirsten Lass Academic consultants: Matthew Smith and Rachel Lang of the UCL Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery Additional genealogical research is by Laura Berry

4. 

   28 May 2021

   Marcus, Rev Alison, and Ruth

   Descendants looks into our lives and our pasts and asks how close is each of us to the legacy of British slavery? And, in turn, who does that mean our lives are connected to? Narrated by Yrsa Daley-Ward, the poet and writer introduces us to a network of lives, each one connected in one way or another through the history of slavery. Marcus is of Bajan descent, Rev Alison Waters is a vicar in rural Somerset, and Ruth is a middle class woman living in Bristol. Their lives today have all been impacted by the legacy of one of the biggest slave owners in British history - a man called Thomas Daniel. Producers: Polly Weston, Candace Wilson, Rema Mukena Editor: Kirsten Lass Academic consultants: Matthew Smith and Rachel Lang of the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery at UCL Additional genealogical research by Laura Berry

5. 

   28 May 2021

   Marlon and Valerie

   One year on from the toppling of the Colston Statue in Bristol, Descendants asks... how close is each of us to the legacy of Britain's role in slavery? And who does that mean our lives are connected to? Yrsa Daley-Ward narrates seven episodes telling the stories of people whose lives today are all connected through this history and its legacy. As a teenager growing up in South London, Marlon discovered steel pan and it changed his life. While grappling with the meaning of his own surname, and how it connects to the history of British slavery, he uncovers how the instrument he loves was also born out of the legacies of this history. The heritage of carnival and steel pan leads us to Valerie, a white woman, born and raised in Trinidad, who seeks to understand how her family ended up on this isle - and discovers her ancestor's role in the events which led to the creation of a cultural institution. Producers: Polly Weston, Candace Wilson, Rema Mukena Editor: Kirsten Lass Academic consultants: Matthew Smith and Rachel Lang of the UCL Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery Additional genealogical research is by Laura Berry

6. 

   28 May 2021

   Malik and Mark

   One year on from the toppling of the Colston Statue in Bristol, Descendants asks... how close is each of us to the legacy of Britain's role in slavery? And who does that mean our lives are connected to? Yrsa Daley-Ward narrates seven episodes telling the stories of people whose lives today are all connected through this history. Malik was a lost teenager in Liverpool when a chance encounter with Gil Scott-Heron set him on a path to find out more about his history. His journey to uncover his ancestry would take him to Guyana where he would discover the way Britain's role in slavery shaped the lives of his family today. But it also led him to discover his connection right back to the place where he began, and to the heart of power in Britain. In Liverpool, 200 years ago, Malik's ancestors would clash with Mark's ancestor, a prominent abolitionist called James Cropper. To this day Mark runs the family paper mill, James Cropper PLC, and the legend of James Cropper has travelled right down through the generations... yet Mark makes a shocking discovery when he learns that there's another side to his ancestry after all. Producers: Polly Weston, Candace Wilson, Rema Mukena Editor: Kirsten Lass Academic consultants: Matthew Smith and Rachel Lang of the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery at UCL Additional genealogical research by Laura Berry

7. 

   28 May 2021

   Jen and Gayle

   One year on from the toppling of the Colston Statue in Bristol, Descendants asks... how close is each of us to the legacy of Britain's role in slavery? And who does that mean our lives are connected to? Yrsa Daley-Ward narrates seven episodes telling the stories of people whose lives today are all connected through this history. The story begins with Jen Reid – whose image first captured attention of the national and international press after a replacement statue of her appeared on the plinth where Colston once stood. In the first episode, we discover the connection between Jen's ancestors in Jamaica and another family 3000 miles away in Detroit. Scrolling backwards and forwards in time, their stories span 200 years and take us on a journey from a plantation field in Jamaica to a football pitch in Scotland and a connection to a legendary figure of the 20th century. Producers: Polly Weston, Candace Wilson, Rema Mukena Editor: Kirsten Lass Academic consultants: Matthew Smith and Rachel Lang of the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery at UCL Additional genealogical research is by Laura Berry

8. 

   24 May 2021

   Welcome to Descendants

   How close is each of us to the legacy of Britain's role in slavery? And who does that mean our lives are connected to? Yrsa Daley-Ward narrates seven episodes telling the stories of people whose lives today are all connected through this history. Producers: Polly Weston, Candace Wilson, Rema Mukena Editor: Kirsten Lass

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