A recent report has really helpful that the Church of England create a £1bn fund in response to its historic links to the transatlantic slave trade.
The Church Commissioners, which manages the Church of England’s investment arm, had already committed to a £100m fund last 12 months but the independent Oversight Group, which is advising them on their slavery response, said this was not enough “relative either to the size of the Church Commissioners’ endowment or to the size of the moral sin and crime”.
The report recommends that the Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice pay out £100m over the following five years as an “initial allocation”.
“Acknowledging the state of worldwide racial inequity largely linked to African chattel enslavement, we recommend viewing this fund as a part of a wider systems change,” the report says.
“The aspiration ought to be for this initial commitment to form the nucleus of a bigger investment initiative with goal assets of over £1bn.”
The report says that the fund ought to be used to take a position in black-led businesses specializing in education, economic empowerment, health outcomes and improving access to land and food, while grants ought to be provided to communities that proceed to be impacted by the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade.
“Crimes against humanity rooted in African chattel enslavement have caused damage so vast it can require patient effort spanning generations to deal with. But we are able to start today, in small and enormous ways,” it says.
The Oversight Group would really like to see the impact investment and spending programme start operating later in 2024.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who can also be chair of the Board of Governors of the Church Commissioners, welcomed the report.
“In searching for justice for all, we must proceed to work together remembering that each one are created within the image of God,” he said.
“The Oversight Group’s independent work with the Church Commissioners is the start of a multi-generational response to the appalling evil of transatlantic chattel enslavement.
“My prayer is that this work will stimulate further visionary and practical co-created motion.”
Bishop of Croydon, Dr Rosemarie Mallett, chair of the Oversight Group said: “No sum of money can fully atone for or fully redress the centuries long impact of African chattel enslavement, the results of that are still felt around the globe today.
“But implementing the recommendations will show the commitment of the Church Commissioners to supporting the strategy of healing, repair and justice for all of those across society impacted by the legacy of African chattel enslavement.”
She continued, “This work and the fund matter since the legacy of African enslavement continues to have a major impact on communities today and inequalities persist till this present day.
“The impact is measurable and apparent in every thing from pregnancy and childbirth outcomes to life probabilities at birth, physical and mental health, education, employment, income, property, and the criminal justice system.
“We hope this initiative is just the beginning and is a catalyst to encourage other institutions to research their past and make a greater future for impacted communities.”
