This is the question asked by historian and broadcaster David Olusoga in a Guardian comment piece on reaction to Cambridge University's decision to investigate its links with the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.

"Cambridge and its colleges are rich. Staggeringly rich. And – spoiler alert – some of the gifts and bequests buried deep within that mountain of wealth will have come from benefactors who were slave traders and slave owners. This is true of other universities, here and abroad. Yet the same commentators who endlessly accuse students of being closed to new ideas and unwilling to face uncomfortable facts have rushed to condemn the university’s investigation into its own past. Their argument, in essence, is that we’re better off not knowing."

After going through some of the old excuses being wheeled out (such as 'grievance archeology'), Olusoga states: "...if Cambridge, the university from which the abolitionists William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson both graduated, had set up a project to explore its role in the ending of slavery, there would have been back-slaps all round. Everyone is happy for the history of slavery to be investigated so long as the investigation examines the parts in which we look good."

The Cambridge announcement is not about "dredging up the past, self-flagellation or any of the other blithe dismissals we’ve heard. It is about breaking the historical silence and uncovering a past that was whitewashed."

Read the full article here. 

Chair of MJR, Rev Alton Bell, has written a response on behalf of the charity to the recent announcement by Cambridge University that it will launch a two-year study to investigate its historical links with colonial slavery and will examine how it might have gained financially from the slave trade. Similar research will also be carried out at Bristol University. 

"As chair of The Movement for Justice and reconciliation I welcome these announcements and MJR will work with these institutions to the extent to which the enslavement of Africans still affects their descendants today."

Rev Bell also comments: "...as the educational institutions, such as Glasgow, Bristol, Oxford and Cambridge Universities seek to find ways to redress the benefit they obtained from the slave trade, the UK and other complicit European countries should also acknowledge their involvement and their benefit and right the wrongs of the past." Read the full article here.

A hard-hitting opinion piece by Cambridge student Micha Frazer-Carroll in the Independent comments on the recent news that Cambridge University is to investigate its links to the slave trade. Calling the study a "tiny step towards change" that sends a "small message" she warns: "one piece of research does not systemic change make".

"When we talk about universities’ involvement in colonialism and slavery, it’s important to remember that we are not just talking about issues of the past, but the message sent to current students and academics by overlooking histories of racism.Attending a university that has been complicit in white supremacist thinking is draining. But attending one that then fails to acknowledge its role in that history can be worse.

"The University of Cambridge approaches race uncritically. At best, like in the case of my college’s dining hall, this means being surrounded by faces that do not look like your own. At worst, the legacies of colonialism and slavery – which directly affected my ancestors as well as those of most students of colour at the university – are erased, overlooked, and thus silently condoned."
Read the full article here.

Read a Guardian comment piece by David Olusoga here. 

In an opinion article in Saturday's Independent Kehinde Andrews claims that the voices of the 73% of Black and 67% of Asian voters who opted for Remain in the 2016 referendum are missing from the Brexit coverage and debate. Ethnic minorities for the most part "...were not persuaded by visions of romantic past in which we were colonised and enslaved." Pointing out that the 7.5 million people from ethnic minorities are a larger population than Scotland and Northern Ireland combined, she says: "...it is high time that these voices are no longer marginalised. Unfortunately, as is usually the case, it is the will of white English people that is being represented as that of the nation." Read the full article here.

Rapper and activist Akala speaks to Good Morning Britain about knife crime in the UK and says the crimes can't be explained simply by race. Some excellent points made, such as: "Where young black boys over-achieve, is race offered as an explanatory factor? ... It's almost as if, a black person does something negative, the entire so-called black community is to blame. A black person does something positive and they suddenly regain their humanity and their right to be regarded as an individual."

On BBC's Question Time on February 7, the panel  was asked about the recent debate about actor Liam Neeson's alleged racism. The response given by model and author Eunice Olumide included a brilliant summary of the history and legacies of colonial slavery. Eunice spoke eloquently of "the elephant in the room" – the transatlantic slave-trade and colonialism – "which no-one ever wants to talk about, despite the fact that it is one of the most significant and horrifying points of history, probably in the entire existence of human beings." Find the programme here on iPlayer – Eunice's response starts at around 39 minutes.

The shameful treatment of the 'Windrush Generation' that has come to light in recent weeks has been commented on in this article entitled 'Prejudice and Injustice' by MJR trustee Dr Clifford Hill. In it he comments: "Our mistreatment of people from the Caribbean islands goes back at least 200 years to the days of slavery under British colonial rule. This legacy of slavery has never been finally expunged from our social attitudes and culture." Read the full article here.

In this hard-hitting blog for the William Temple Foundation, Greg Smith considers white, male privilege and the role of the Church in a world still beset by racial inequality. Despite some progress in the past forty years Smith laments that still "so little has been achieved in the struggle against oppression and the legacy of colonialism and slavery", and that being white, male, middle-class and university educated (as he readily admits he himself is) still confers significant social and economic privilege over all others.

"Despite all the enquiries and reports, and equality and diversity policies, institutional racism remains in place and life chances in education, employment, income, the criminal justice system, health and housing are significantly higher for white middle and upper class people living in the south of England than for any of the minority ethnic communities. Violent hate crimes are frequent and tend to peak when political events give permission for racist thuggery, verbal and online abuse goes on unchecked and subtle forms of racism expressed in a look, body language or unfavourable customer service are an everyday experience."

As for the Church, again while there is much work and progress to be commended, still for the most part there is white male domination, particularly of leadership, and unwillingness to address issues of legacy. “Conversations about colonial history in white-led evangelical circles often begin and end with a self congratulatory, virtue signalling narrative around Wilberforce and the abolitionists, plus a mention of the great Christian leadership of Martin Luther King and Desmond Tutu.” Read the full blog here.

This article by Afua Hirsch appeared in the Guardian as a response to the recent violence in Charlottesville. In it she asks important questions about statues in the UK and who gets remembered from history and why. William Wilberforce is known for his abolition work, (though not the many black activist and writers who also campaigned). However, he was vigorously opposed by Nelson, the naval hero, who used "his position of huge influence to perpetuate the tyranny, serial rape and exploitation organised by West Indian planters, some of whom he counted among his closest friends." Should his statue be next on the list for toppling?

Afua comments: "We have 'moved on' from this era no more than the US has from its slavery and segregationist past. The difference is that America is now in the midst of frenzied debate on what to do about it, whereas Britain – in our inertia, arrogance and intellectual laziness – is not." Read the full article here.

MJR trustee Joe Aldred has written a response to the recent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, USA. In it he encourages Christians to "not opt only for the easy answers of prayer, protest and denunciation" but to also make a stand for truth. "We can stand against lies which say one race is superior to another. We can condemn the selfish ambition and the fake news we see. But most of all we can preach the truth of the gospel. Once a person has accepted Jesus as their Lord, there will be no room for racism or hatred in their lives." Read the full article here.