Anger as plaque for enslaved Black man axed after ‘wrong’ image used: ‘do all slaves look the same?’

Campaigners have been left furious after a blue plaque dedicated to an enslaved African man appears to feature the wrong image.

The fixture, organised by the Wolverhampton Society (TWS), was commissioned to honour George Africanus, who was enslaved by and worked for the Molineux family in the city before becoming one of the UK’s first Black entrepreneurs.

It was unveiled by the city’s mayor at the Wolverhampton Archives History Fair on Saturday, ahead of its planned fixture at Molineux House, but Wolverhampton City Council stopped it from being installed after concerns it featured another man, Olaudah Equiano, a key figure in the slavery abolition movement, who lived in Westminster.

The Creative Collective, a diverse group of local creatives, condemned the mix-up and called for the plaque to be scrapped.

A spokesperson said: “TWS unveiled a blue plaque to a former slave in Wolverhampton on Saturday: George Africanus. It has the wrong slave on it: Olaudah Equiano”.

“Do all former slaves look the same?”, they added.

A City of Wolverhampton Council spokesperson said it was aware of the concerns and was talking to the Wolverhampton Society to “understand the validity of the image they used”.

“The plaque was displayed by the Wolverhampton Society at its annual history fair on Saturday. That was the first time it had been seen by the council. Due to the concerns raised, there are no plans for the plaque to be installed,” a council spokesperson said.

Former Wolverhampton MP Rob Marris, who sponsored the plaque, told The Independent: “If that mistake has been made, it is extremely regrettable, and the image should be removed and/or the plaque carefully disposed of.

“The Wolverhampton Society was responsible for the research and the design; I merely offered to fund it.”

David Dungar, chair of TWS, told The Independent there was no known image of Africanus and confirmed that his team was reviewing the situation.

“The George Africanus plaque was originated (...) some considerable time before I became chairman of WS,” he said.

“As the archivist at the Wolverhampton Archive has admitted, there is no known image of George Africanus at the time his life is being celebrated.”

An earlier plaque dedicated to George Africanus was unveiled in May 2023, with the support of the Creative Collective, but it did not carry an image, only his name. Plans to install it on the same building as the new one were scrapped, however.

The Creative Collective spokesperson added: “The Wolverhampton Society plaque is clear tokenism for Black History Month by the Wolverhampton Society and the City Council (and City Archive Building).

“The Creative Collective plaque comes from the very heart of the black community in Wolverhampton. Questions need to be asked as to why the council favoured the Wolverhampton Society and their plaque. They need to do better.”