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Equiano – An enduring story

On 31 October 2022, I had the privilege of attending the renaming of the Riverside Bridge in Cambridge. It was renamed Equiano Bridge in honour of an 18^th century Christian, Olaudah Equiano, who is remembered as a bridge-builder, at a time when society was grappling with the polarising issue of the day, the slave trade. He is best known for his ground-breaking 1789 autobiography The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African.  

It was incredible to be listening to the life story of Equiano, a man that lived more than 200 years ago and see how it was inspiring people of all backgrounds and ages, today. As much as I enjoyed the occasion – the speeches, the cake, the unveiling of the plaque – I could not help but feel that more mention could have been made of the Christian faith that underpinned Equiano’s ethical thinking and action. His writing offered an important corrective to some Christian understandings of slavery in his day. Yet, during the renaming of the bridge ceremony, the only explicit reference to his faith was the following quote from his autobiography printed in the pamphlet given out to attendees:  

“The word of God was sweet to my taste, yea sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. Christ was revealed to my soul as the chiefest among ten thousand.” 

For many years now, I have wondered if there is scope for Christians to make better use of the life stories of key historical figures, in the sharing of our faith. Hearing about the impact on those hearing the story of Olaudah Equiano culminating in the Council renaming of a bridge no less, left me thinking once again surely this an area worthy of further exploration…  

Further reading 

If you want to know more about Equiano and the Equiano Bridge renaming, and you are not able to visit the bridge itself, go to: http://equianobridge.org.uk 

You might also be interested in exploring four recently published articles in the Journal of Baptist Theology in context Issue 7 (2022). Three of the articles are written by EBA ministers – Andy Goodliff, Julian Gotobed, and Gale Richards – and they are all inspired by the theologian James William McClendon Jr. McClendon, who was also utterly convinced of the power of the life stories of key historical figures for speaking and thinking about God.  A free online copy of the journal can be accessed here: https://www.jbtc.org.uk/issue-7-special-edition

Written by Gale Richards, EBA Regional Minister