Remembering the Slave Trade
Reflections on Burns and Black Lives by Clark McGinn
As we observe Slave Trade Remembrance Day, it is vital to confront the uncomfortable truths about our history and the figures we celebrate. One such figure is Robert Burns, Scotland’s beloved national poet, often revered as a symbol of freedom and the common good. However, in Burns and Black Lives, Clark McGinn uncovers a more complex legacy that challenges our perceptions of Burns and his relationship with slavery.
McGinn’s exploration begins with a startling revelation: Burns once accepted a position managing a slave plantation in the West Indies. This fact raises critical questions about the poet’s moral stance and the implications of his actions. How could Burns, the “people’s poet,” become entangled in what has been termed ‘The Black Holocaust’? McGinn delves into this paradox, examining how Burns might have interacted with the brutal realities of slavery, from managing financial records to witnessing the suffering of enslaved individuals firsthand.
In his analysis, McGinn highlights the multifaceted meanings of the words ‘slave’ and ‘slavery’ in Burns’s work. He identifies three primary interpretations: metaphorical slavery, political slavery and coward slavery. This nuanced approach allows readers to grasp the complexity of Burns’s worldview, while also scrutinising his silence on the direct enslavement of Black people in his poetry. This silence is both telling and troubling, as it suggests a disconnection between the poet’s celebrated ideals and his lived reality.
McGinn also analyses specific poems, such as “The Mauchline Wedding,” where Burns mentions the wealth derived from the West Indies without acknowledging the human cost of that wealth. This lack of critique serves as a reminder of the complicity in systems of oppression, even among those who champion freedom and equality.
As we reflect on the legacy of slavery today, McGinn’s Burns and Black Lives serves as a crucial text for understanding the intersections of literature, history and social justice. It compels us to reckon with the complexities of our heroes and the ethical ambiguities of their choices. In doing so, we can honour the memory of those who suffered under slavery while seeking a more profound understanding of our shared history.
This Slave Trade Remembrance Day, let us engage with the uncomfortable truths that shape our past and present. McGinn’s compelling narrative challenges us to reconcile the genius of Robert Burns with the moral conflicts of his time, ensuring that we remember not only the poet but also the lives that the institution of slavery irrevocably altered.
