Slavery is racism today.
— Kerry Nugent2022
Kerry Nugent
Kerry Nugent was born and raised in Liverpool 8. Nugent works as a community activist and advocate around issues of domestic abuse and health outcomes for African Caribbean communities. In the full interview, Nugent discusses her family history and generational ties to Liverpool, as well as the impacts of systemic racism that fuels the oppression of Black people today. This interview was conducted in English in Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Watch the full interviewConversation Transcript
Okay, so the impact of slavery— the legacy is what we call racism today. Systemic racism. Because of the way our community, our African brothers and sisters were treated in a subhuman way, that gave rise to kind of white superiority because they had to justify the treatment of slaves by treating them as less than human. So then once slavery was abolished, the attitudes remained. So then that became what we know as modern day racism, systemic racism. So the oppression of Black people stems right back to the enslavement of our people. And in Liverpool, we have kind of— with Liverpool being the capital of the slave trade, that— that oppression has continued. And we’re still struggling today for things like health. We have poorer health outcomes. We don’t have the employment opportunities. We’re failed in the education system. And so, yeah, the legacy of slavery. Slavery is racism today.
