Letter: Liverpool and the slave trade: when a black child was a fashionable gift

Wednesday 17 August 1994 23:02 BST

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Sir: Fritz Spiegl is right to criticise any adherence to orthodoxy that may obscure the truth of the universal capacity for human cruelty. As he rightly observes, black people in Africa are as capable as white people in Europe of barbaric behaviour.

His intellectual approach, however, suggests inconsistency in his use of the term 'black on black' to describe violence in Angola, Somalia and Rwanda, unless he is also ready to describe European wars and sectarian violence in Bosnia and Ireland as 'white on white'

Yours faithfully,

PAUL COOPER

School of Law

John Moores University

Liverpool

17 August

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Letter: Liverpool and the slave trade: when a black child was a fashionable gift

Join our commenting forum

Thank you for registering