Campaigners call it 'an act of apology' and as such, the March of the Abolitionists is being billed as the first major public event to mark the 200th anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act.
 | | Image: Lifeline Expedition website |
Beginning in Hull on Friday 2nd March, hundreds of people will don yokes and chains and attempt the 250-mile journey from Humberside to London - the gruelling route taken by enslaved Africans during the period of the Atlantic Slave Trade. Marching through the county The abolition marchers' route will link up sites throughout the country that played a significant role in the slave trade in the United Kingdom. In Cambridgeshire, these include Wisbech, the birthplace of abolitionist Thomas Clarkson; Cambridge, where both Clarkson and William Wilberforce were educated; and Soham, where the African abolitionist Olaudah Equiano was married. You're welcome to walk with the marchers as they pass through your part of the county. Route details - Monday 12th March - Holbeach to Wisbech
- Tuesday 13th March - Wisbech to Wimblington
- Wednesday 14th March - Wimblington to Sutton
- Thursday 15th March - Sutton to Soham
- Friday 16th March - Soham to Cambridge
- Saturday 17th March - Cambridge to Royston
- Sunday 18th March - Royston (rest day)
- Monday 19th March - Royston to Buntingford
The march will culminate in an Anglican Apology event in Greenwich on Saturday 24th March. Why and who? The March of the Abolitionists is an initiative of the Lifeline Expedition in partnership with Anti-Slavery International, CARE, Church Mission Society, the Equiano Society, Northumbria Community, Peaceworks, USPG, Wilberforce 2007 (Hull) and Youth With A Mission. The march is also associated with the Set All Free and Stop the Traffik coalitions.
 | | Image: Lifeline Expedition website |
Marchers include a number of children aged between five and 15, two of whom will occasionally wear the yokes and chains.听 The organisers stress that these children are aged 12 and 15 and have chosen to wear the yokes after seeing pictures of enslaved children. The march of the Abolitionists aims to bring about an apology for the slave trade, and especially the role of the Church, and so help people deal with its legacy; to raise greater awareness of the true history of both slavery and abolition; remember and celebrate the work of both the black and white abolitionists; and promote greater understanding, reconciliation and forgiveness. | 
