Friday, April 28, 2023 ended the consultation on the house of slavery in Bordeaux. Its objective was to gather the opinion of the inhabitants of this city, which owes its wealth to the slave trade. The port of Bordeaux was the third most important in France for triangular trade from the 17th to the 19th century. Today, the desire is to repair and reconcile with history.
In one year, some forty personalities have been heard, from former footballer Lilian Thuram to local guide Yves Simone. Around ten workshops brought together Bordeaux residents who reflected on what they expected, not from this museum, but from this House of Slavery and Resistance.
Karfa Diallo is the founder and director of Memories and Sharings. He has notebooks of grievances that the public can still sign for a week: “ There are auditions. There are citizen consultations, but there are also indeed complaints books which are six in number. We asked six questions of the people who worked with us in the consultation workshops: Why slavery in the plural and not in the singular? Why a house against slavery and not a museum against slavery? What do you expect to find in such a place dedicated to the memories of slavery and fights for freedom? “.
These notebooks will be given to the mayor of Bordeaux on May 12, two days after the day commemorating the abolition of slavery. The House of Slavery and Resistance could open at the very end of 2025. The project is estimated at 4.7 million euros.
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