UK church group issues apology for slavery
The apology was accompanied by a pledge from The United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands to give parcels of land it had received from those who profited from slavery to the most vulnerable.
During an ecumenical service held under the theme: ‘Reparation, A Journey Towards Repentance, Repair and Reconciliation’ at Webster Memorial Church in St Andrew, the UK church group acknowledged the harrowing legacy of slavery — that subjected millions of men, women and children to backbreaking labour, violence, and dehumanisation — and expressed regret for the actions of their ancestors.
‘Gospel that calls on sinners to repent’
The apology was read by Reverend Tessa Robinson, moderator of The United Reformed Church UK and accepted by Rev Gary Harriott, moderator of The United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
Robinson said that the apology is rooted in the gospel that calls on sinners to repent of what has been done in the past and to be reconciled.
The United Reformed Church comprises various denominations across England, Scotland, and Wales who benefited financially from the slavery through donations.
In its apology the church acknowledged its “share in and benefit from our nation’s participation and that of some of our own antecedent bodies in transatlantic slavery”.
“We recognise our failure to honour the efforts of our abolitionist forebears by permitting the legacies of transatlantic slavery to continue shaping our word. We offer our apology to God and to our sisters and brothers in Africa, the Caribbean, and their descendants for all that has created and still perpetuates such deep hurt which originated from the horror of slavery. We repent of the hurt we have caused, our reluctance to face up to the sins of the past, and our silence in the face of racism and injustice today,” the apology continued.
Jaspert & UK owe VI an apology?
It was in 2020 that then Governor of the Virgin Islands Augustus J.U. Jaspert irked some descendants of slaves in the Virgin Islands when he unartfully said the Virgin Islands can expect no reparations for slavery from the United Kingdom and that the Territory should not necessarily get rid of names of landmarks named after slave owners and perpetrators of slavery and brutal acts against humanity.
The Queen’s representative had made the comments on a live Facebook interview on Monday, September 7, 2020, with 284 Media.
Several commentators and members of the public openly condemned the insensitive remarks and demanded an apology; however, Mr Jaspert, who called a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into governance in the VI, never apologised.
The UK, through its Foreign and Commonwealth Office, had said the comments of Mr Jaspert reflected the position of the UK.
Church of England apologises for ties to slavery
Meanwhile, in January last year the Church of England apologised for its historical ties to slavery. The apology followed the revelation that the organisation benefited from donations from a fund dating back to Queen Anne in 1704 intended to help the poorest clergy. The fund was invested in the South Sea Company, which traded in African slaves.
The organisation also pledged to support communities affected by slavery with a £100-million (US$127 million) investment over nine years. However, experts advising the church on the initiative have recommended a new target of £1 billion.
According to a report launched at The University of the West Indies, Mona, last year June, England owes the descendants of the enslaved in 31 countries in the Caribbean, Central America and North America US$24 trillion.
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20 Responses to “UK church group issues apology for slavery”
Know your history guys !
Moreover, enough talk of reparation; let’s make it happen. The Caricom Reparation Commission (CRC) is a good starting template for reparation. The church was a contributor and beneficiary of slave trade, so other than talk what is the Church doing about reparation? When is King Charles III going issue at least a simple apology, given that the Crown was a contributor and huge beneficiary of slavery?
Moreover, exploited and expropriated slave labour built and fuel the UK and other European economies. It created dizzying individual personal wealth., improving the standard of living and quality of life of Britons and other Europeans..Sugar production in the islands was a driver in commercial capitalism in Europe. At one point, the ‘Sugar Islands’ was the most profitable British colonies. However, industrial capitalism displaced commercial capitalism, probably diminishing slavery as an economic force. Though Racism may not have started slavery, it resulted in whites being the upperclass with special rights, freedoms, status, privileges, etc., and blacks cast in caste system, a servile permanent underclass, uncompetitive labor force,,etc.. To keep blacks in the permanent underclass status, , they had to be exploited, dehumanized, abused, raped,,deprived of the simplest of worldly possessions, deprive of education,,proper diet, housing,,etc,,separated from families, instituted strict control over them, etc.
Slavery ended, the UK authorized and appropriated £ 20M to compensate slave owners for lost of their slaves and the revenue generated from their labor. The payout occurred under the Abolition Act of 1833. It is important to note that the £20M was borrowed, approximately 3000 slave owners were compensated, and the loan was supposedly paid off in 2015.
Slave Labour built economies, permitted building of personal wealth, created the opportunity for generational wealth for the descendants of slave owners who continue to benefit from slave labour..Nevertheless, neither slaves nor their descendants have benefited from the fruits of slave labour. Residents in former Anglophone countries in region are still suffering from the legacies of slavery, colonialism and associated pathologies. Up to this moment, the descendants have not gotten even a simple apology from the Monarch/ Crown. It is long past time for a) an apology, b) reparations for the descendants of slaves. Reparation needs to be much than cash payout.
Fannie Lou Hamer ( Dec 20, 1964) said “I’m Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired.” Indeed, the descendants of slaves are sicked and tired of apologies for the dehumanizing, exploiting, abusing, separating of their families, etc. Reparations, reparations, reparations now. No more empty words, apologies.
All this talk about monetary rewards is foolish its pretty rocks numbers and scams printed on paper. Look around at this inheritance its not called the Virgin Islands for nothing.
Stopping giving the colonizers a way out, Jah Mon
Stop tell lies and try to rewrite history that never happened w&*88$ are the author of the wicked slavery system and still practice today
I ain’t no slave to these W**** Clowns