Event type: Talk

Inspired by Writing on the Wall’s hugely successful Great War to Race Riots archive project and the Black Lives and Legacies 1919 project in association with Liverpool University, this walking tour explores a little-known history in our city’s well documented past. The anti-black riots of 1919 were a watershed moment for Liverpool’s black community, the oldest in Europe.

On the night of 6th June unprecedented racial violence erupted in the modern-day Chinatown area that continued for days as gangs of people, reportedly in the thousands, hunted out “any black man they could find … severely beating and stabbing” them. Black homes and businesses were looted and wrecked as over 700 members of the black community were removed from their homes into the main Bridewell, for their own protection.

24 year old Bermudan sailor, Charles Wotton, tragically lost his life during the riots in what would be reported by newspapers of the time as a ‘lynching’. Official reports on the murder are vague but it is said that Wotton, after being chased by police and a large crowd, either was pushed, thrown or fell into Queens Dock. Once in the dock, Wotton was pelted with rocks by the onlooking crowd until he drowned.

Using official court documents, newspaper reports and images from the time the 1919 Walking Tour traces the events of the 6th June, visiting sites mentioned in official reports as well as the tragic last movements of Charles Wotton. On the tour we will discuss the rise in post-war xenophobia that allowed for the riots as well as the longstanding consequences for Liverpool’s black community.

The tour will be led by Dr Andy Davies BA (Hons), MA, PhD who is a Reader in Human Geography in the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Liverpool. His research spans cultural, political and participatory geographies, with a particular focus on the legacies of colonialism.

His book, Geographies of Anticolonialism (Wiley, 2019), explores how South Indian anticolonial activists imagined a world beyond colonial rule. He also works on collaborative projects in India and the UK, partnering with communities, schools and local organisations to explore education, environmental resilience and the ways colonial histories continue to shape places today, including Liverpool. Andy played a key role in the development of the 1919 Walking Tour.

Starting point: Chinese Arch, Nelson Street, L1

The L8 Activism Walking Tour invites you to take a stroll down the beautiful, tree-lined Victorian boulevard and explore the rich history of Liverpool 8 — the traditional home of the Black community since the mid-20th century. This tour traces the area’s development from its origins as a merchant-class neighbourhood in the mid-to-late 19th century, when Liverpool was considered the second city of the British Empire — its prominence largely built on the Transatlantic Slave Trade — through a period of economic decline, and finally to its resurgence as one of the most desirable places to live in 2025. 

 As the tour progresses, we cover the vibrant nightlife and culture of the 1950s and 60s and the Black and anti-racist activism that developed throughout the 1970s and early 1980s and which responded to local and international issues. We consider the discrimination faced by Liverpool’s Black community, which Lord Gifford in his enquiry into the causes of the 1981 uprisings, described as ‘uniquely horrific’ which brought worldwide media attention to the area. At the Rialto which, during the uprisings, was set ablaze, we view the area where battle lines were drawn and consider why certain buildings were targeted.   

 The L8 Activism Walking Tour culminates on the former site of the Liverpool 8 Law Center, an organisation which arose out of the ‘81 Uprisings and which played a key role in the support and empowerment of L8 and the Black communities and then onto empty plinth where William Huskinson once stood. Join us to find out what happened to him and much more history that you won’t find in books. 

Starting point: Princes Park North Gates, L8 3TA

End point: Former site of Huskinson statue, Princes Road, L8 1TH

The Liverpool & Slavery Walking Tour was developed and inspired by our Dorothy Kuya Archive Project, in collaboration with National Museums Liverpool. During the project our team revealed the extent of Dorothy’s involvement in the establishment of the Atlantic Slave Trade Gallery, Slavery Remembrance Day and the International Slavery Museum. Along with Liverpool activist and historian Eric Scott Lynch (1932-2022), Dorothy delivered slavery walking tours in collaboration with NML in the mid 1990s. It is local Black activists like Dorothy and Eric that have played an integral role in how Liverpool remembers and commemorates its heavy involvement in the Transatlantic Slave Trade.  

On this tour we explore the many sites and streets with direct links to the Transatlantic Slave Trade in Liverpool city centre. We discuss the depth of the city’s connections to the trade of enslaved Africans and the goods they produced long after its abolition in Britain. This tour also considers the legacies of the Atlantic Slave Trade, the origins of anti-Black racism and white supremacy, which in the 18th and 19th centuries were seen as justifications for horrific oppression and continue to encourage racial hatred violence in the present day.  

The tour will be led by Nasra Elliott who is an Engagement Producer at National Museums Liverpool’s, International Slavery Museum and a community historian based in Liverpool. Her work focuses on community engagement, public history, and ethical collaboration, with a particular interest in Liverpool’s Black histories and its connections to transatlantic slavery, empire, and their contemporary legacies. At the International Slavery Museum, she develops research-informed, co-produced programmes that bring together archival research, community knowledge, and lived experience to create accessible public history.

Her practice is grounded in decolonial approaches to heritage, participatory governance, and the role of museums in addressing historical injustice. Alongside her institutional role, she is an independent researcher

Starting at The Pump House, Albert Dock, Liverpool L3 4AN, the tour will then cover the L1 and L2 districts, ending at Liverpool Town Hall.   

Starting point: The Pump House, Albert Dock, Liverpool L3 4AN

End point: Liverpool Town Hall, High St, Liverpool, L2 3SW