Unsung - Liverpool's Most Radical Son
Portrait of Edward Rushton by Moses Haughton (1773-1849), reproduced with kind permission from the Royal School for the Blind, Liverpool
7 November 2014 to 27 September 2015
This display has now finished
This display focused on Edward Rushton’s writings against slavery.
Rushton's letter to George Washington exposed his hypocrisy as an owner of slaves and the leader of a country which proclaimed liberty for all but the enslaved. It became a landmark in antislavery campaigning on both sides of the Atlantic.
Audio recordings of Rushton’s poetry and writings performed by local actors Gillian Kearney, Tayo Aluko and John Davies were also included.
This display was part of Unsung, a city-wide project celebrating the bicentenary, social activism and legacy of Edward Rushton. Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and led by DaDaFest as part of DaDaFest International 2014.
Unsung included partner displays at the Museum of Liverpool and the Victoria Gallery and Museum. The Museum of Liverpool's display highlighted Edwards Rushton’s key achievements as a campaigner for human rights..
The display at the Victoria Gallery and Museum showed his campaigning through the written word including his poetry and bookshop that was on Liverpool’s Paradise Street.