Entertainment from Gombeys, a string of speeches about Bermuda’s past and a tour of a slavery exhibition formed a vibrant celebration at Commissioner’s House yesterday.

About 150 people turned out for the three-hour commemoration the bicentenary of the Slave Trade Act.

Visitors to the event, organised by the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality (CURE), said it gave them a perfect chance to reflect on how the slave trade helped shape the Island’s history.

Sandra Carmichael, 56, from Somerset, said: “It’s good to remember what people have had to endure in the past, and to try to make sure we don’t go through anything like that again.”

Minister of Social Rehabilitation Dale Butler made a speech in which he summarised Bermuda’s slavery history.

“Today’s commemoration serves as an opportunity to acknowledge the legacy of slavery as being at the heart of situations of profound social and economic inequality, bigotry, racism and prejudice which continue to affect people of African descent today,” he said.

“It also offers us a chance to acknowledge as a community how shameful the slave trade was, and to honour those who fought so tirelessly to bring forth its abolition. This event is also an opportunity to pause and rejoice in the better times we live in today. It allows us to come together, Bermudians and visitors alike, and give thanks for the thriving, privileged society we are a part of today.”

Stating that challenges remain today, Mr. Butler pointed to the 12 million men, women and children trapped in the modern slave trade.

He urged people to support the efforts of Amnesty International and Anti-Slavery International, as well as The Royal Gazette’s Break The Chains campaign, which calls for governments across the world to take action to end all forms of human captivity.

Myra Virgil, the Government’s Director of Human Affairs, praised a string of initiatives including Break The Chains.

“The Bermudian community has embraced this opportunity by embarking on a variety of collaborative efforts to honour and celebrate this 200th anniversary.

“We applaud initiatives such as the Break The Chains campaign; the Maritime Museum, whose slave trade exhibit continues to evolve and educate the community on the history of slavery; the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, who have provided us with their most recent publication, ‘Bicentennial Anniversary: Abolition of the Slave Trade Act’ that outlines the national and international journey towards abolition.”

CURE Education Officer Sara Clifford said: “I’m really pleased with the way the event has gone.”

Other groups to mark the bicentenary include Wesley Methodist Church, in Hamilton, which focused on the subject during its 11 a.m. service and held a minute of silence.

The Church has also been holding a special Lenten Bible study called “Set All Free” which aims at finding ways to eradicate modern day slavery by remembering how the Trans-Atlantic slave trade was brought to an end.