King Charles has given his support for research into the monarchy's links with the slave trade for the first time as an American historian unearthed a a ledger which reveals his predecessor King William III was given shares in the Royal African Company - transatlantic slaving firm - by Bristolian slave trader Edward Colston in 1689. Buckingham Palace said “This is an issue that His Majesty takes profoundly seriously. As His Majesty told the Commonwealth heads of government reception in Rwanda last year: ‘I cannot describe the depths of my personal sorrow at the suffering of so many, as I continue to deepen my own understanding of slavery’s enduring impact.’" The document, published by The Guardian was found in a royal archive by Virginia-based historian Dr Brooke Newman. Dr Newman's research is being supported through access to the royal collection and the royal archives

MJR welcomes this bringing of another piece of hidden shameful history into the light and looks forward to the results of the research. Read more in this Guardian article, and in this Daily Mail article (which states King Charles was "forced to support probe into royal family's slavery links".)

A special course, based on the MJR film ‘After the Flood: the church, slavery and reconciliation' will be a part of the summer term at Manchester Bible School, based at our partner Nazarene Theological College. The course will take place over 4 Monday evenings from June 12 to July 3, 7:30-9:30pm.

• June 12: Screening of After the Flood. followed by refreshments (facilitated by MBS/NTC and Beatrice Smith, MJR)
• June 19: Reflection session led by Dr Clara Rushbrook (Luther King House)
• June 26: Informal Q&A and discussion on film themes – Part 1. Led by Beatrice Smith (Churches Together in England, Spring Harvest & MJR Trustee) .
• July 3: Informal Q&A and discussion on film themes – Part 2: ’So what?' led by Ven Karen Lund (Archdeacon of Manchester & MJR Trustee).

Cost is £25 unwaged; £35 waged. The film screening on June 12 is open to all and will cost £5. More info and booking will be available shortly on the Manchester Bible School website.

The University of Manchester have acquired the rights to use ‘After the Flood: the church, slavery and reconciliation' in any of its courses and teaching material and is having a special screening of the film' on Wednesday April 19. Venue is St Peter's House Chaplaincy, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9GH. Hosts: Professor Dawn Edge (Academic Lead for ‘Race’, Religion, and Belief), Banji Adewumi (Director, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and Paul Keeble (Movement for Justice and Reconciliation).

​Guests for a keynote and Q&A include Professor Robert Beckford, who narrates the film, and Dr Elizabeth Henry, one of the interviewees. 

The event begins at 4.15pm with light refreshments and the screening will commence at 5pm. Places are free, but due to high demand, to ensure yours, please register here.

The MJR documentary ‘After the Flood: the church, slavery and reconciliation' has been shortlisted for a Sandford Award. These are the UK’s most prestigious broadcast awards for radio, TV and online programmes and content that explore religious, spiritual or ethical themes. 'After the Flood' has been shortlisted for the TV/Video award – see the list here. Winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony in Manchester’s Whitworth Hall on 21 June.

A new exhibition in the library at Lambeth Palace includes artefacts such as a “slave bible” with passages relating to freedom and escape removed and documents revealing the Church of England’s involvement in a fund linked to transatlantic chattel slavery It is the latest step in a wide-ranging programme of work launched in 2019 that aims to “address past wrongs” by researching the church’s historical links to the slave trade.

The Queen Anne’s Bounty fund, set up on 1704 to tackle poverty among clergymen, made significant investments in the South Sea Company, which the church knew was involved in purchasing and transporting enslaved people as its main commercial activity between 1714 and 1739. This fund has grown into the £9bn managed by the Church Commissioners out of which a new fund of £100m was set up last month to support projects “focused on improving opportunities for communities adversely impacted by historic slavery”.

A new NHS report is set to reveal that a third of Black and ethnic minority health staff have suffered racism or bullying as the NHS fails to address “systemic” levels of discrimination. Levels have not improved in the last five years at almost 30%, compared to 20% of white staff. The report will also reveal that despite being one-quarter of the workforce, minority ethnic staff make up just 10% of the most senior positions.

Equality for Black Nurses has launched 200 cases of alleged racism against a number of NHS trusts since it was set up by Neomi Bennett in 2020. Ms Bennett said: “The bullying of Black nurses has reached pandemic levels and goes unchallenged. However, there is a clear difference in experiences when comparing Black nurses’ difficulties to white nurses.”

This year's NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard report will show that the number of minority staff in the NHS has increased by 100,000 since 2018 – largely driven by increased international and overseas recruitment. But just two-fifths of staff reporting that their hospital provides equal opportunities. Internal NHS survey figures show that race was the most commonly reported type of discrimination across all staff, with female workers of colour experiencing the highest level of discrimination in 2022. Other causes of discrimination, however, have reduced since 2016.

Read more here.

Following up our recent post on the Church of England's new fund to address the legacy of slavery, Bishop Mike Royal, General Secretary, Churches Together in England, and MJR advisor has written this article for Premier Christianity magazine. His verdict is that "£100m is a drop in the ocean in terms of righting the wrongs of the slave trade", but "it does attempt to direct compensation in the right direction".

Mike also refers to contributions about the slave trade by historian David Olusoga, journalist Afua Hirsch and academic Prof Kehinde Andrews in the recent Harry and Meghan Netflix documentary. This important content has been lost in the subsequent media attention on other issues. Hirsch tells viewers that: “the first ever commercial slave voyage conducted by Britain was personally financed by Queen Elizabeth I. It continued to be financed by kings and queens right up until its abolition”. Olusoga reflects on what he was taught about the slave trade at school, “the only aspect…that was ever talked about was the abolition of slavery.” This is a “very selective slice of the history”, he says, and misses out “a critical aspect.” Slavery wasn’t just abolished, the slave owners “were compensated enormously. £20 million for their human property!”.

Read the full article here.

The Church of England has committed £100m to a new fund to compensate for its historical benefit from the international slave trade. The money will be used to support projects “focused on improving opportunities for communities adversely impacted by historic slavery” and deliver a programme of investment, research and engagement over the next nine years. 

The fund has been set up as a result of a report for the Church Commissioners, the body that manages the C of E’s £9bn-plus endowment fund. The origins of this fund have been traced partly partly to Queen Anne’s Bounty, a financial scheme established in 1704 based on transatlantic chattel slavery. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said the report “lays bare the links of the Church Commissioners’ predecessor fund with transatlantic chattel slavery. I am deeply sorry for these links. It is now time to take action to address our shameful past.”

Read more here. Read the Church Commissioners Report here.

Nadine White, Race Correspondent for The Independent has written this reflection on another Black History Month and concluded: "​Racial equality in Britain is as distant a dream as ever".

Despite the high profile political appointments of people of colour, the heightened awareness of racial injustice since the murder of George Floyd in 2020 has not been harnessed. Instead "​From the widening ethnicity pay gap between Black and white workers to the “violent” deaths of Black people in prisons, the struggle is real. From the absence of Black history on school curriculums to the majority of Black Britons reporting experiences of racial discrimination by doctors and nurses, there’s yet more work to be done."

She quotes just released statistics that reveal that Black British people are still disproportionately affected in terms of detention and treatment compared to white people. The optimism of 2020 has largely gone as the government presses ahead with plans "to send thousands of Black, Asian and Middle Eastern refugees to Rwanda, describing them as 'illegal' migrants because they arrive by boat. Meanwhile, ministers have rightly opened our doors to tens of thousands of mostly white Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s bloody war."

The government’s Hate Crime Action Plan launched in 2016 appears to have ground to a halt and there hasn’t been a word from ministers about the worrying surge in these incidents in the last year.

​Read the full article here.

October 28 was the annual Thomas Clarkson Day at Manchester Cathedral, hosted by Dean Rogers Govender. which this year featured a screening of MJR documentary ‘After the Flood: the church, slavery and reconciliation'. The screening was followed by a panel discussion chaired by MJR trustee Paul Keeble. Panelists were After the Flood director Sheila Marshall, Dr. Andrew Boayke, Lecturer in Religions and Theology, University of Manchester and Rev Ian Rutherford, minister of Methodist Central Hall. A lively Q&A included discussion on 'power footprints', reparations, comparisons with the legacy of oppression of working class 'white wage slaves' and how to move from words to actions.

One of the attendees Elinor Chohan MBE DL said: "An important and thought provoking event marking #ClarksonDay. I recommend you watch After The Flood documentary on UK churches, slavery and racial equality."

​Find out more about Thomas Clarkson here.