The Postal Museum announces new exhibition exploring connections between postal services and slavery

Opening on 5 April 2025, Voices of Resistance explores the lives and legacies of enslaved Africans whose labour powered 19th-century postal ships. It will highlight the fight for freedom and better conditions, the persecution they faced and the global impact of their legacies today.

‘Backbone: Strong’ by Ama Dennis

The exhibition focuses on the island of St. Thomas, where enslaved people – predominantly women – were forced to carry heavy baskets laden with coal, to fuel ships belonging to the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company (RMSPC). In a day, coal workers carried as much as 800 tonnes of coal, as heavy as five cars.

Packet ships transported goods, letters, and passengers between the UK and the Caribbean, enabling enslavers to manage plantations via the postal service, distancing themselves from the atrocities of transatlantic slavery.

The Postal Museum partnered closely with academics, community groups in London and the United States Virgin Islands to shape the exhibition, including the Caribbean Social Forum, Royal Mail Culture Bearers and Dollar fo’ Dollar. The museum has also commissioned new research into the lives of coal workers in partnership with a St. Thomas based historian.

The exhibition features postcards, letters, paintings and clothing from the past and present, alongside newly unearthed correspondence between UK plantation owners and Caribbean managers discovered in the museum’s archives. New stories revealing moments in enslaved people’s lives, and their courageous acts of resistance, have been uncovered through a process of reading this correspondence “against the grain.”

At the heart of the exhibition is a specially commissioned film, showing the annual celebration honouring coal workers, organised by Dollar fo’ Dollar – the St. Thomas based organisation which researches and raises awareness of the rich legacy of the island’s coal workers.

Laura Wright, CEO, The Postal Museum says, “We’re immensely grateful to our partners in London and St. Thomas who have greatly enriched our exhibition’s narrative. It’s incredible that despite the brutality of their lives, enslaved people found ways to survive, and this exhibition aims to honour their voices of resistance. We hope to work with external partners in the future to develop more of our exhibitions and content.”

Joanna Espin, Senior Curator, The Postal Museum says “We have worked closely with academics and community groups to give voice and representation to African Caribbean people living with the legacy of the RMSPC operation on St. Thomas to inform and enrich the narrative around the company, the experiences of coal workers and how they are remembered today. We hope this new exhibition provides a new narrative for this story, encourages visitors to look at objects in different ways, and shines a light on those affected by postal operations.”

Ayesha Morris, Dollar fo’ Dollar says, “It is a great honour to continue to celebrate the legacy of the coal workers of the Virgin Islands through an annual cultural tour over the past 20 years. The organization aims to uplift and spread awareness of the memories of those who, basket by basket, fuelled steamships coming into the St. Thomas harbour for about a century, who courageously fought for better wages and working conditions. We are excited for the opportunity to collaborate with The Postal Museum and for the chance to give an international voice to a significant piece of Virgin Islands history.”