Avonmore

(William and Ellen walk on)
Escaped from slavery is what we've done. In the 15th century our journey began.

This is why I, William Craft and I, Ellen Craft, are here to give you a taster about our lives and the abolition of slavery.

Avonmore Primary School have been doing a lot of research on our journey to freedom and about the Abolition of slavery. In fact it's 150 years since the abolition of slavery.

The children at Avonmore found out that slavery started in the 15th century when the Triangular trade began. The Europeans wanted a place to grow crops such as sugar cane, tobacco, cocoa beans, coffee beans and exotic fruits. So they decided to take slaves from different parts of Africa, they did this by giving goods and deporting slaves to the Caribbean and America. The whole journey lasted 18 months and about 1 out of 6 slaves survived. The crops were then transported from the U.S and Caribbean to Europe to be sold.

William and Ellen Craft (that's us), were part of this Triangular Trade. Avonmore discovered that we were both slaves who managed to escape by disguising ourselves as a white man and my black slave. It was quite easy for me to pretend I was white, since my father was a white slave owner. My mother was one of his slaves.

We then took a train from Georgia to Boston and nearly got caught on the way.

When we got to the border in Philadelphia, we nearly had to end our journey, because we wouldn't be able to go any further if we didn't sign a form.

Due to the fact Ellen had a broken arm, she couldn't sign the form, so therefore we could not go past the border. Luckily for us though, someone said that they were
friends of ours.

After we passed the border, we lived in Boston for 2 years. We then found out that slavery was about to start in Boston, so we fled to England, ending up in Cambridge Grove, Hammersmith and lived there for 10 years. Whilst in Hammersmith I, Ellen, gave birth to 5 children. Eventually slavery was abolished and we went back to Boston.

Avonmore also found out about other people who had campaigned against slavery. They were William Morris and Lucy Parsons, who spoke at Kelmscott House by Hammersmith Bridge.

William Morris was a man who believed that slavery should be abolished and that people shouldn't work in dirty factories or in plantations. William Morris also did other things such as painting, tapestry, poetry, and made furniture. Whilst making a stand on Hammersmith Bridge for slavery to stop, William Morris was arrested for obstruction on the bridge.

Lucy Parsons was a mixed race lady who was born into a slave family. When she was 6 she run away and lived as a free citizen.

She got married to Mr. Parsons and had 2 children. Later on Mr. Parsons campaigned against the Government. His punishment for disagreeing with the Government was to be hung. Before his death Lucy and her children had no access to her husband. Then after his death she was released.

To find our evidence we took trips to the Urban Study Centre and Kelmscott House. In the archives at the Urban Studies Centre we found out about the extraordinary story of William and Ellen Craft and saw the book William had written, 'Ten Thousand Miles to Freedom' about their escape. We learnt all about Lucy Parsons and William Morris' role in the abolition of slavery when we visited Kelmscott House. We also interviewed some people who take an active part in Black History Month to help us with our project. Two of the people we interviewed were a lady called Leonora who is a poet and works for Shape and Sav who is a Graphic Designer.

The children at Avonmore felt very strongly about the issue of slavery, about how wrong it was and how everyone should have their freedom. We thought it was very important to raise peoples' awareness of it, so that we can all learn how important it is to treat each other equally and with respect. Therefore, we dedicated our class assembly to Black History Month. Leonora, the poet, worked with us to create an assembly about peoples' fight for freedom from slavery, through poetry and drama. Our assembly was filmed by Sav. Last week we put the assembly into a storyboard format, so that we can use this as guidance when we video our work again.

This time it is going to be made into a film about the abolition of slavery. The video will be sent to all the schools in Hammersmith and Fulham and can be used during Black History Month and as a resource when learning about Black History and Human Rights.

The both of us (our real names are Ahmed and Sana) and the whole of Avonmore Primary School hope you enjoyed our presentation on the Abolition of Slavery . We would particularly like to thank Leonora, Sav, Sue and Ieuan, as without their help we wouldn't have learnt so much and become aware of such an important part of our history. We also hope that you will be able to use and enjoy the video we have made.

Thank You for listening.

		(William and Ellen walk on) Escaped from slavery is what we've done. In the 15th century our journey began. This is why I, William Craft and I, Ellen Craft, are here to give you a taster about our lives and the abolition of slavery. Avonmore Primary School have been doing a lot of research on our journey to freedom and about the Abolition of slavery. In fact it's 150 years since the abolition of slavery. The children at Avonmore found out that slavery started in the 15th century when the Triangular trade began. The Europeans wanted a place to grow crops such as sugar cane, tobacco, cocoa beans, coffee beans and exotic fruits. So they decided to take slaves from different parts of Africa, they did this by giving goods and deporting slaves to the Caribbean and America. The whole journey lasted 18 months and about 1 out of 6 slaves survived. The crops were then transported from the U.S and Caribbean to Europe to be sold. William and Ellen Craft (that's us), were part of this Triangular Trade. Avonmore discovered that we were both slaves who managed to escape by disguising ourselves as a white man and my black slave. It was quite easy for me to pretend I was white, since my father was a white slave owner. My mother was one of his slaves. We then took a train from Georgia to Boston and nearly got caught on the way. When we got to the border in Philadelphia, we nearly had to end our journey, because we wouldn't be able to go any further if we didn't sign a form. Due to the fact Ellen had a broken arm, she couldn't sign the form, so therefore we could not go past the border. Luckily for us though, someone said that they were friends of ours. After we passed the border, we lived in Boston for 2 years. We then found out that slavery was about to start in Boston, so we fled to England, ending up in Cambridge Grove, Hammersmith and lived there for 10 years. Whilst in Hammersmith I, Ellen, gave birth to 5 children. Eventually slavery was abolished and we went back to Boston. Avonmore also found out about other people who had campaigned against slavery. They were William Morris and Lucy Parsons, who spoke at Kelmscott House by Hammersmith Bridge. William Morris was a man who believed that slavery should be abolished and that people shouldn't work in dirty factories or in plantations. William Morris also did other things such as painting, tapestry, poetry, and made furniture. Whilst making a stand on Hammersmith Bridge for slavery to stop, William Morris was arrested for obstruction on the bridge. Lucy Parsons was a mixed race lady who was born into a slave family. When she was 6 she run away and lived as a free citizen. She got married to Mr. Parsons and had 2 children. Later on Mr. Parsons campaigned against the Government. His punishment for disagreeing with the Government was to be hung. Before his death Lucy and her children had no access to her husband. Then after his death she was released. To find our evidence we took trips to the Urban Study Centre and Kelmscott House. In the archives at the Urban Studies Centre we found out about the extraordinary story of William and Ellen Craft and saw the book William had written, 'Ten Thousand Miles to Freedom' about their escape. We learnt all about Lucy Parsons and William Morris' role in the abolition of slavery when we visited Kelmscott House. We also interviewed some people who take an active part in Black History Month to help us with our project. Two of the people we interviewed were a lady called Leonora who is a poet and works for Shape and Sav who is a Graphic Designer. The children at Avonmore felt very strongly about the issue of slavery, about how wrong it was and how everyone should have their freedom. We thought it was very important to raise peoples' awareness of it, so that we can all learn how important it is to treat each other equally and with respect. Therefore, we dedicated our class assembly to Black History Month. Leonora, the poet, worked with us to create an assembly about peoples' fight for freedom from slavery, through poetry and drama. Our assembly was filmed by Sav. Last week we put the assembly into a storyboard format, so that we can use this as guidance when we video our work again. This time it is going to be made into a film about the abolition of slavery. The video will be sent to all the schools in Hammersmith and Fulham and can be used during Black History Month and as a resource when learning about Black History and Human Rights. The both of us (our real names are Ahmed and Sana) and the whole of Avonmore Primary School hope you enjoyed our presentation on the Abolition of Slavery . We would particularly like to thank Leonora, Sav, Sue and Ieuan, as without their help we wouldn't have learnt so much and become aware of such an important part of our history. We also hope that you will be able to use and enjoy the video we have made. Thank You for listening.

Avonmore Primary have produced a video, "The Struggle for Freedom".
They were helped by Leonora, an artist from SHAPE.