The Amazing Grace of William Wilberforce
by E. “Doc” Smith‚ Mar. 02‚ 2007
Many years ago, when my older cousin Bruce headed off to college on a basketball scholarship, I asked him where he was going to. “UCLA?, UNC?, Georgetown?”. “No, I’m going to Wilberforce, in Ohio,” he told me. “Wilberforce?”, I naively asked him. “Who was he?” Bruce smiled and said, “He’s the cat who ended slavery in England, look him up.” Indeed, Wilberforce is considered one of the Historically Black Colleges, and rightly so. The new film, “Amazing Grace”, recounts the life of William Wilberforce, abolitionist, statesman, and his lifelong friendship with then British Prime Minister William Pitt. This is a truly inspiring film and will leave anyone who watches it, moved by an incredibly important and compelling true story.
Amazing Grace the film, was directed by Michael Apted and chronicles the campaign against the slave trade in 19th century Britain, led by it’s most famous abolitionist William Wilberforce. Wilberforce was responsible for steering anti-slave trade legislation through the British parliament.
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Amazing Grace is a fantastic film about people, greed, and human decency, about revolutionary ideas and the will to fight injustices against all odds. Slavery in one form or another still exists on Earth in 2007, and any film, person or group that sheds light on this, the darkest, most murderous secret of all, deserves our thanks, and our support. I think cousin Bruce would agree.
Read all of it here.
