An African abolitionist at Fulham Palace: talk by Dr Joseph Yannielli
Join Dr Joseph Yannielli for his talk on An African Abolitionist at Fulham Palace: Augustus Hanson and the Bishop of London.
The Reverend Augustus Hanson (1815-1862) was an Underground Railroad conductor, abolitionist, scholar and one of the first European diplomats of African descent. He was also an ordained Anglican minister who met and corresponded with Bishop Blomfield (Bishop of London 1828-1856) at Fulham Palace. Blomfield consistently refused to employ Hanson in the UK, but did make an introduction to Earl Grey, leading to Hanson’s appointment as the first British Consul to Liberia. With a career spanning West Africa, the United States and Great Britain, Hanson was an early proponent of Pan-Africanism. Yet he is largely absent from both academic history and popular memory. Dr Yannielli asks what we can learn by recovering the life, travels and broader context of this pivotal figure.
This talk is part of a series held at Fulham Palace for Black History Month in October 2024, where we will re-examine historical narratives and bring to the forefront the voices of those who have been marginalized.
About the speaker
Dr Yannielli received his PhD from Yale University and is currently Lecturer in Modern History at Aston University in Birmingham, UK. Before this, he was a postdoctoral associate at the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition and a Perkins Fellow at Princeton University. He is completing a book about the transatlantic Mendi Mission established by abolitionists in the wake of the Amistad rebellion. He is also interested in digital history and has co-created several public projects involving students, academics and community partners.
Event details
- This talk is part of the Black History talk series.
- This talk is suitable for ages 16+.
