STATEMENT:
Anti Racist Cumbria were made aware of Windermere Lake Cruises (WLC) decision to remove all mention of the connections Lake Windermere has with the Enslavement of African People in their commentaries and new guidebooks when former employee Paul Holdsworth reached out for support following his resignation. The company decision, taken in the immediacy after George Floyd was murdered asked all skippers to remove any mention of enslavement. Paul was vocal about continuing to include it in his commentary, a decision which ultimately led to him resigning on principle when the company refused to allow him to do so.
Anti Racist Cumbria was not approached to get into the ‘employment/HR’ aspects of this situation, Paul reached out simply for moral support. Paul took his story to the media and there has been much furore on the topic. The news made print in The Guardian, The Times and was featured on regional BBC and ITV news. Before Paul took his story to the press we wrote to Windermere Lake Cruises and offered our support and a summary of our letter to WLC which also serves as a statement on the matter is below.
Our aims are that Anti Racist Cumbria (ARC) can offer WLC some support in the hope that you will change the company position on the topic of the TransAtlantic Trade of Enslaved People. We ask that WLC include respectful and honest coverage in both live and prerecorded commentary and of course in any guidebooks and appropriate marketing materials you produce too.
We understand that the topic of enslavement can be a difficult one to navigate, but there are a huge range of resources available (including our own) that exist to help organisations handle topics sensitively and respectfully. We have seen the transcript of Paul’s commentary in relation to some of Windermere’s connections to enslavement (John Bolton and Rasellas Belfield) and feel it is a well written and balanced short piece of commentary and unlikely to cause offence or upset.
It may be that other staff members would not handle the topic as well, in this instance surely a more constructive outcome would be to ensure relevant staff are appropriately trained to deliver commentary about enslavement rather than shutting it down altogether?
Anti Racist Cumbria understand the reasons given by Windermere Lake Cruises were that the company policy is not to mention anything that is ‘too sensitive’. We would question which topics are and aren’t deemed ‘too sensitive’ and by whom? Some of our members with Jewish heritage are personally heartened to hear the story of the Windermere Boys and our local area’s connections to WW2 for example. The holocaust is undoubtedly a sensitive topic, as are some of the high-speed crashes, deaths by drowning, and various other topics that WLC do not deem too sensitive to discuss.
Ultimately we were disappointed and frustrated to hear of Windermere Lake Cruise’s position on the topic of enslavement, and especially the lengths that WLC were prepared to go to prevent this topic from being discussed. This is not the sort of example we would expect from one of top 5 tourist attractions in the country with a hugely diverse UK and global audience and a large local employer. WLC aims to give a world-class visitor experience; an entertaining, accurate and informative commentary is part of that experience. Sadly enslavement is part of the history of the lake, and it is an insult to people’s intelligence to pretend it didn’t happen. Not being aware is one thing; but WLC have wilfully and purposefully taken it out of commentary and guidebooks. We imagine in some misguided idea that doing so will reduce reputational risk.
We would like to offer WLC support to work with relevant staff to co-create a transcript for commentary and provide advice on the topic within guidebooks and any other relevant marketing material.
We continue to hope we can work together to create a positive outcome to this situation; one that will allow our shared local history to respectfully be part of the experience that millions of visitors enjoy on Windermere each year.
Windermere Lake Cruises full statement is available here. Their position states “Following the receipt of complaints regarding the inclusion of reference to the Transatlantic Trade of Enslaved People in our commentaries, we decided to amend the reasonable parameters for our commentaries.
“We are not an organisation responsible for providing education or historical interpretation of the area in which we operate and felt there was no compelling need to refer to the Transatlantic Trade of Enslaved People, given that this aspect of our commentary had been the source of complaints.”
ARC have been made aware of two complaints, and are yet to hear of any others. One went across social media from a customer who felt the topic was handled by another skipper in a glib fashion and we are aware of one other- from the owner of Storr’s Hall – the place with the history of enslavement. If there have been more we would suggest (as we did above) that training is provided by WLC to staff to ensure commentary is respectful, rather than censored. We would not expect nor demand a full historical and educational commentary about enslavement when onboard lake tours, we are sure there will be local historians equipped and ready to do so. However given that the tours have taken and continue to take in a wide range of local historical facts which until BLM included reference to some our most prominent links with enslavement, we think it is appropriate in this instance not shy away from this part of our local history. Indeed it could even be enriched further with the area’s links to the abolitionist movement! WLC are the number one attraction for visitors of all backgrounds and from all over the world and it remains one of the most easily accessible ways to enjoy and learn a little about Windermere. Ultimately history cannot be changed, but we can all learn from it. We remain hopeful that we can work together with WLC.
Read more about Cumbria’s connections to Slavery here: https://antiracistcumbria.org/black-history-month-cumbrias-connections-to-slavery/
