Headstone Memorial For Charles Wotten
A Bermudian sailor who died “after he was pursued by a white mob in one of the UK’s worst outbreaks of racist violence” back in 1919 will have a a permanent headstone placed on his grave.
A BBC story said, “A sailor who died after he was pursued by a white mob in one of the UK’s worst outbreaks of racist violence is to have a permanent headstone on his grave.
“Charles Wotten, also known as Wootton, died in Liverpool in 1919 and was buried in a pauper’s grave. “The headstone will be officially unveiled at a ceremony in Anfield Cemetery at 14:00 BST.
“It is the first of several memorials marking the contributions of black people to the city.
“The event is the result of five years of fundraising and campaigning by the Liverpool Black History Research Group in collaboration with the Liverpool Enslaved Memorial Project. Mr Wotten was buried in a public grave without a permanent headstone.”
“We had to get Home Office permission for the headstone because Charles is in a public grave,” Laurence Westgaph, of the Liverpool Black History Research Group, said.
“We want to recognise Charles Wotten but also the adult education centre named after him in Liverpool 8 which became a hub for Liverpool’s black community inspiring a generation of young activists in the fight for equality,” said Mr Westgaph.
A statement from the Liverpool Black History Research Group said, “More than a century after his murder Charles Wotten’s final resting place, in a public grave, will receive a permanent memorial. The Liverpool Black History Research Group in collaboration with the Liverpool Enslaved Memorial Project have raised funds to provide a lasting memorial to the sailor from Bermuda who was killed during the 1919 Liverpool Race Riots.”
You can read the full story here on BBC.
