400 Years: Taking the Knee (episode 1)

In this film, writer and BBC radio presenter Dotun Adebayo narrates the many stories of black resistance to oppression. From the Jamaican national hero Nanny of the Maroons to the NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, the documentary celebrates individuals who fought and struggled against injustice, and discusses the impact of these heroic figures. 400 Years: Taking the Knee begins with first years of the European slave trade but fundamentally focuses on the individuals who fought and struggled against colonialism, slavery, and their legacies. Insisting on the importance of individuals and their ability to resist historical conditions – to shoulder burdens and to break down walls – it covers five centuries of intertwining British and American histories.

The first episode, the one that we will be screening tonight, investigates the different struggles in the gradual labour of breaking down the system of slavery. It looks to the violent resistance that occurred within the Atlantic system, inspiring defiance, and fracturing the machine piecemeal, but also to the literary and political organising in the abolitionary process.