ABSTRACT
The sale of human beings inevitably takes its toll. The families of Africans sold into slavery must have endured unimaginable fear and grief. Any person whose family background has been influenced by slavery, and who knows something of the history of the slave trade, must chose for themselves whether to blame one side or the other for what happened. The legacy of fear passed on by the slave trade has disrupted the capacity of individuals for basic trust. Fear also finds expression in the vigilance which is necessary to prevent racial discrimination from growing worse. Despite the frequent, ritualized singing of 'Rule Britannia', with its line that 'Britons never, never, never shall be slaves', the teaching of children about the slave trade is utterly neglected in schools. Racial discrimination continues to afflict the people and to insinuate itself into peoples' lives.
