BIRMINGHAM City Council kicked off a year of commemorations to mark the abolition of the Slave Trade this weekend. Brummies were treated to music, song, poetry and dance throughout the city to recognise the landmark event. Yesterday dancers, musicians and international speakers gathered at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery to commemorate the event. Steel pan musicians the Mighty Jamma and Little J performed along with a Nigerian dance troupe. Visitors also had a chance to sample free Caribbean cuisine and listen to poetry. Cabinet member for leisure, sport and culture Coun Ray Hassall said: "The activities at the museum are just the beginning of a year of bicentenary commemorations in the city. "This year is an unprecedented opportunity for the people of Birmingham to remember those who fought tirelessly for the abolition of the slave trade." Other activites throughout the year include the Breaking the Chains initiative at Birmingham Central Library called Slavery: A Shared History, A Shared Future, which will start in August. It will use city archives as a resource to raise awareness of indentured labour and the cityÕs role in sustaining and abolishing the slave trade. Birmingham's leading figure in the fight against slavery was also remembered in a special service to rededicate his statue. Quaker Joseph Sturge's Grade II listed statue stands outside the Marriott Hotel on the edge of Five Ways island after being restored by Birmingham Civic Society, the city council and the Sturge family. More than 200 people attended to rededication service on Saturday and later moved to unveil a blue plaque at Eden Croft in Wheeleys Road, Edgbaston, where Sturge lived between 1824 and 1859. The statue, which originally included a drinking fountain, was erected soon after his death in 1859 but had to be moved twice as new roads were built and the Five Ways island was constructed. | 
