The Movement for Justice and Reconciliation (MJR) aims to increase our understanding of how modern society has been affected by the legacy of oppression left by colonial slavery and industrial exploitation.

The 2019 voyages of the slaveship Zong - read more...

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Deprived inner-city areas of 21st century Britain are increasingly becoming a diverse melting-pot of unhappiness and despair. The riots of August 2011 brought to the surface an underlying spirit of turmoil and hopelessness felt by many in our inner-cities, uniting people of many different cultural backgrounds in an expression of outrage against the injustices of modern society.

New research has shown links down the generations to colonial slavery, when millions were displaced from their African homeland and forced to work in British colonies, and the mass exploitation of working people in Britain in the Industrial Revolution. The events of 200 years ago would seem to have little bearing on our modern culture, but the links should not be so quickly dismissed.

We believe this legacy of oppression has left a hidden footprint on the souls of many people living in deprived areas, resulting in a common feeling, across ethnicities, of powerlessness and disenfranchisement.

MJR was launched on 23rd September 2015, followed in November by a presentation in the House of Lords. It will gather existing and commission new research, make the findings known through educational projects and seek to resolve injustice, promote wellbeing and encourage community reconciliation in new and innovative ways.

The Legacy of Slavery by Dr Clifford Hill. "The Movement for Justice and Reconciliation was born out of the desire to draw public attention to one of the great injustices of our age: the legacy of slavery". more...