Amazing Grace

I went to see the movie Amazing Grace last weekend, in fact on the actual bicentennial of the abolition of slavery and was inspired enough to immediately begin reading Adam Hochschild's Bury the Chains which tells the same story, though with different emphases. So although I may be jumping the gun a bit by posting about the book before we've made it an official selection (I feel certain that we will at some point-- Hochschild's King Leopold's Ghost was our inaugural selection so just for nostalgia's sake...), I've assembled some links that may be of interest to those who saw the movie or have read the book.

The film has a companion website, The Amazing Change, which aims to make the link between the historic abolition movement and the campaign against modern forms of slavery. Included is an effort to match the number of petition signatures to that Thomas Clarkson gathered.

The BBC has put together a very nice package which includes reports on modern day slavery and trafficking, resources for children, and a even more goodies like an interactive map for history buffs. The gallery of abolitionists feature was put together by Hochschild and the "Tools of Abolitionists" gallery is a must-browse for modern-day activists of any cause interested in understanding the history of the techniques still in use today.

A little more on modern-day slavery: Here is a nice photo-story package from photojournalist Pete Pattison. A little background explanation is available at openDemocracy.

Finally, here is Hochschild commentary on reparations for slavery in the LA Times. and for a bit of African perspective on the same subject, try this sampling from Global Voices Online of the African blogosphere.

Check here for more Rights Readers posts on slavery.