
A piece of artwork, dedicated to anti-slavery campaigner John Newton, has been unveiled in Liverpool - the first one in Europe.
The words and notes of his famous hymn, Amazing Grace, have been cut out of a metal plaque on the city's waterfront.
The Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, joined its creator, Stephen Broadbent at the ceremony on Thursday.
Commissioned by Merseytravel, it is one of the last phases of the new £10.5m Pier Head Ferry Terminal.
John Newton fought for the abolition of slavery after being both a slave ship captain and a slave, during the 1740s.
Mr Broadbent wanted the words and musical notes of the hymn to flow through his artwork.
He said: "It celebrates the connection between the lyrics of Amazing Grace and a melody that emerged from the descendants of the slaves, which John Newton in his early life had transported from Africa to America.
"The artwork is comprised of three pierced steel plates which represent the three continents connected by the trading routes of the middle passage."
Bishop of Liverpool John James added: "John Newton is one of the surprising secrets in Liverpool. Everybody in the world knows the song Amazing Grace but if you asked who wrote it no-one would be able to tell you.
"Well guess what it was John Newton, John Newton worked in Liverpool, he was surveyor of the tides.
"We have the fabulous new Ferry terminal building overlooking the Mersey, who better to commemorate on the banks of the Mersey than John Newton.
"He was a slave ship captain and we are not proud of that but we are proud of his work with William Wilberforce to abolish the slave trade in the British Empire.
"So because racism and slavery exists even today it is very fitting that in the name and justice of slaves today that we should have this memorial by Stephen Broadbent to say that we to, turn our back on slavery and racism.
"Everyone knows the song Amazing Grace and isn't it now fantastic for people to find out that the person who wrote that helped abolish the slave trade.
"He might be labelled a hypocrite, but we are all hypocrites aren't we.
"We all do things we wish we didn't do, I mean that is sin.
"Read the bible and find out about that."
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