Legacies of Slavery
You are invited to explore how the legacies of slavery continue to affect life today
At General Assembly in 2022, two resolutions were adopted that were put forward by the Legacies of Slavery Task Group following a process of wide consultation across the Church.
The first was a ‘Confession and Apology by the United Reformed Church’ acknowledging the role played by our forebears in transatlantic slavery and our failure to dismantle the continuing legacies which blight our world today. The resolution committed the Church to sharing the confession and apology widely, both within and beyond the URC, including with our global partners in Africa and the Caribbean.
The second affirmed the URC’s commitment to practical actions to address the continuing negative impacts of the legacies of transatlantic slavery on black communities in the UK, the Caribbean and Africa, and instructs the Legacies of Slavery Task Group to bring concrete and costed proposals to General Assembly 2023 for a considered programme of repairing justice.
From these two resolutions a path was laid that we see fliurishing today. But these resolutions weren’t the start of the journey, they were the culmination of decades-long work for racial justice in the URC, carried out by activists and allies who have refused to be silent or to be silenced.
This page will evolve to bring you that journey and demonstrate the changes that are happening today.
The Legacies of Slavery in the URC
How do the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade manifest themselves in the church today? What should be our response?
George Floyd
The murder of George Floyd on May 25 2020, became a catalyst for change across the world. It was a stark and widely publicised example of police brutality and systemic racism. The video of his death, showing a police officer kneeling on his neck for over nine minutes, sparked global outrage and mass protests, leading to renewed calls for police reform, racial justice, and social change. It also intensified discussions on institutional racism and led to policy changes, corporate commitments to diversity, and grassroots activism worldwide.
Having released a statement voicing outrage and dismay following George Floyd’s murder, the URC was prompted to pose the question, ‘Do Black Lives Matter in the URC?’ and led to the November 2020 commitment to journey from ‘not racist’ to becoming an ‘actively anti-racist’ Church. After all, how can the Church speak with integrity unless we are committed to setting right within our own body that which we challenge and critique in the world around?
Do Black Lives Matter in the URC?
We explore this question and the global awakening to the Legacies of Slavery, white privilege and racial oppression in an online conversation
An Overdue Apology
In April 2024 members of the United Reformed Church travelled to Jamaica as part of an ecumenical pilgrimage to learn more about the legacies of transatlantic slavery and to further relationships with the Churches’ Reparations Action Forum (CRAF), Jamaica. Themed around repairing relationships, the trip focused on spiritual reconciliation, as well as meetings with partner churches, the country’s Prime Minister and other prominent politicians.
Those on the trip included the Revd Dr Tessa Henry-Robinson, URC General Assembly Moderator 2023-2024, Karen Campbell, Secretary for Global & Intercultural Ministries, and Tom Hackett, Southern Synod’s Children’s and Youth Development Officer.
The URC Statement of Confession and Apology was delivered in person by Dr Henry-Robinson during an ecumenical service themed ‘Reparation, A Journey Towards Repentance, Repair and Reconciliation’ at Webster Memorial Church in the parish of St Andrew, an area around the country’s capital, Kingston.
It was accepted by the Jamaican government Minister, the Hon. Olivia Grange, Jamaica’s Minister for Culture, Gender, Entertainment & Sport, and by the Revd Gary Harriott, Moderator of The United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands (UCJCI).
The URC’s apology was accompanied by a pledge from the UCJCI to give parcels of land it had received from those who profited from slavery to the most vulnerable.
Repairing Justice
Through the General Assembly 2023 the URC adopted a three-strand approach to repairing justice:
- Local – within the body of the URC
- Regional – within the UK
- Global – working with partners in the Caribbean and Africa, possibly with and through the Council for World Mission (CWM).
Local
As part of the local strategy, the General Assembly approved a resolution making anti-racism training mandatory for certain groups and individuals holding positions of leadership, decision-making and influence in our Church. The training was developed by Professor Anthony Reddie and delivery began in January 2024. Well over 100 URC members received the training between January and July 2024, with the programme set to be cascaded soon.
Regional
The LoS task group decided from an early stage to focus its regional proposals on the mentoring of young Black men. This was in no small way influenced by two Children’s & Youth Development Officers (CYDOs) allocated time to work with the group. Why young Black men? Because while inequalities and injustices are experienced by African diaspora communities in the UK in general, young Black men particularly bear the brunt of multiple inequities.
Global
The global strand emerges from a place of humility. Where some would question the purpose or benefit of a “Confession and Apology”, the URC’s approach was to acknowledge the past and say sorry. To lay itself before those that have had harm done to them and together forge a way to a joint future. The aim is to collaborate with our global partners to support work they have identified for themselves rather than us presuming to know what is needed.
Relationships and Reparations
A clear and frequently repeated learning point from our work over the last few years and from the Jamaica pilgrimage, is that reparation is first and foremost about the healing of relationships – the bringing together of those who have been divided by a hideous history and its continuing impacts. It is only then, in relationship, that financial reparations find their true meaning. If I love my neighbour as I love myself, or as I would wish to be loved, it follows that I will do what I can to enable their wellbeing – even more so if I am aware of my complicity in their struggles.
Further Understanding
‘Being white’
What does it mean to be White? What is White privilege? Is the church structurally and theologically racist?
‘The Healer’
How does its art and iconography both reflect and uphold racism in the church?
Telling it like it is
A video that looks at white privilege in the Church today
Legacies of Slavery Task Group Consultation
Consultation responses
Read anonymised responses to our Legacies of Slavery Consultation
Consultation overview
Find out about the consultation, why it’s happening now and read a draft ‘Apology and Confession’
Frequently Asked Questions
Read an updated list of FAQs about the Legacies of Slavery Consultation
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Black Lives Matter Intercessory Prayer
Please use this intercession in your online service of worship