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The trail aims to ensure the city’s role in the slave trade continues to be “acknowledged, understood and remembered” according to a council paper on the move. The route will consist of plaques or other markers at key locations across the city with QR codes linked to information about the city’s historical links to the trade and exploitation of people. In 2022 the council issued an apology on behalf of the city to the descendants of enslaved people and the nations affected. Glasgow has 62 streets and locations with historic connections to slavery – including Buchanan Street – as well as a number of buildings. Eight figures linked to the trade are also commemorated across monuments in the city. There had been discussions about renaming streets and removing some statues but that is not being taken forward currently according to the council. A council paper on the visitor trail said there is support for “providing a fuller context around this chapter of Glasgow’s history, through improved interpretation around the city’s-built heritage. This will now be progressed in a new Slavery and Colonial Legacy Trail.” It adds: “Officers from Glasgow Life and the Chief Executive’s Department will convene a short-life working group to oversee the development of the trail. This group will be responsible for curating content, designing the QR code interface, and ensuring alignment with the wider civic conversation on Glasgow’s slavery legacy.” The information for the trail will be based on research by Dr Stephen Mullen entitled: Glasgow, Slavery and Atlantic Commerce: An Audit of Historic Connections and Modern Legacies. The paper on the plan will be presented to Glasgow’s wellbeing, equalities, communities, culture and engagement city policy committee next week. It will be funded by the City Stories Fund.
