Bishop Samuel Crowther seated in the foreground with his son Dandeson standing behind him (Photo: © CMS) In October last year, the Islington Local History Centre launched an exhibition to coincide with Black History Month.
Local History Manager Martin Banham, who curated it, got permission from CMS to use some of its archival pictures of Samuel Crowther within the exhibition.
At the launch, while many visitors kept their comments fairly minimal, such as "Really detailed display; keep up the good work!", the abiding impression they gave was how surprised they were that they'd never heard Crowther's story before, despite his connection to Islington, and what a shining example his life was of human achievement against the odds.
The Crowther images were on display for three months.
During that time, the centre had 200 or so visitors -- a substantially larger number than usual.
It proved such a success that, subsequently, the new Islington Museum decided that it wanted to include Crowther's story in its permanent display. The latter will have a 'soft launch' on 25 April and open formally at the end of May or in early June.
The museum asked CMS if it could include a couple of its images on the new display panels. One of them was of Samuel Crowther sat at a desk with his son Dandeson stood behind him -- see the original above.
This is the display panel.
[download PDF 495 KB]Heritage Manager Cheryl Smith credits her colleague Martin for alerting the Local History Centre and the museum to Samuel Crowther and the role he played in Islington and in 19th-century church and anti-slavery history.
Paying tribute to Crowther himself, she acknowledges, "Not only did he have to endure the traumatic aftermath of being captured by slave traders and separated from his family, but he was obviously a highly intellectual and spiritual person who achieved great things within the Church and followed through his convictions. He experienced and achieved so much in his life.
"We thought that it would be appropriate to celebrate his life in the new museum.
The museum had already established a section in the exhibition entitled 'Islington Radicals' because of the many people, who were born and had lived in Islington throughout the last few hundred years, who had made an impact on the modern world.
They included Mary Wollstonecraft, who wrote in support of the rights of women and Black people in the late 18th century, and John Wesley, who founded the Methodist Church, so it was felt that Crowther was a natural fit for such a context and such company.
Cheryl adds, "We also felt that he would be a positive role model for Black students and visitors -- to see images of someone like him and read of his achievements.
"We believe that local people will feel proud of their connection to him, that Islington has helped in his development and that he will be an inspiration to visitors."
In 1864, Samuel Crowther became the first African Anglican bishop.