A MAGNIFICENT full colour book published to accompany the Equiano exhibition at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery has recently been launched.

The book, entitled, 'Equiano: Enslavement, Resistance and Abolition' brings together eleven diverse essays by writers in Britain and America on the life of Equiano,his legacy and the themes that are dealt with in the exhibition.

The book, which has a Foreword by Lord Morris of Handsworth, provides new insights into enslavement, abolition, the African presence in Britain in the eighteenth century. It also investigates the role of women activists in the abolition movement, African British writers and the connections between Birmingham, enslavement and abolition.

The book was launched by two of its editors - Arthur Torrington - secretary of the Equiano Society and Rita McLean, Head of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Two of the contributors to the publication, Professor James Walvin (Emeritus Professor of History at the University of York and project historian) and Clare Parsons (Curator of the exhibition) were also present.

Born in 1745, Olaudah Equiano was enslaved as a child, was a sailor in the Royal Navy and fought in the Seven Years War. He later bought his freedom, and traveled around the world, including the Arctic, and was a key figure in the campaign to abolish the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Councillor Ray Hassall, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture said: "This fascinating book explores many of the issues covered in the Equiano exhibition which proving to be a popular and thought provoking attraction.

Both the book and the exhibition acknowledge the role that the city of Birmingham had in the slave trade itself and its eventual abolition."

The book was launched alongside an Education Pack based on the life and times of Equiano. The pack, which is targeted at school pupils in Key Stage 3, includes a series of History and Citizenship lessons and a CD with audio and visual material. The pack is available free to schools who book 'a taught session' within the exhibition and to all West Midlands secondary schools that visit the exhibition.

The pack is on sale to all other schools, to anyone who is interested in the African presence if 18th century Britain.

The Equiano Project is a partnership between The Equiano Society and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. The project is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Birmingham City Council and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.