It is encouraging that a poll found most people in the UK think the British Museum should have a permanent exhibition on the transatlantic slave trade (Majority back British Museum exhibit on transatlantic slave trade, 21 November). But I was disappointed that there was no reference to a museum dedicated to this issue that already exists. The International Slavery Museum opened in Liverpool in 2007 and has been addressing all the questions that were asked by the poll ever since, linking the past to understanding “Britain’s multicultural society today”.
The museum is free and only two hours from London by train, but if you want to visit you need to start planning now, as it closes on 5 January until 2028 for repair works “ahead of a major redevelopment project – subject to funding”.
If English National Opera has had to move to the north-west to reach a regional audience, why should it be necessary to go to London for a slavery museum? Liverpool acknowledges its role in the slave trade, which makes it all the more relevant as a base for the museum, and should receive the attention and funding it deserves.
Elisabeth Winder
Liverpool
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