As Black History Month draws to a close I'm pondering a specific event from nearly 20 years ago and the larger picture of enslaved people in the British Empire.
Somehow I missed the coverage of a worship service that took place in Westminster Abbey in 2007 to commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Great Britain and eventually through the Empire.
The monarch, Queen Elizabeth II was in the congregation, as was Prime Minister Tony Blair. Lady (Kate) Davson, the great-great-great grand-daughter of William Wilberforce, who led the abolition movement, read a House of Commons speech made by her ancestor.
According to the BBC the eloquent Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, offered a reflection describing slavery as:
...an offence to human dignity and freedom and "the greatest cause of grief to God's spirit".
Dr Williams told the congregation that slavery was not a regional problem in the world, but was "hideously persistent" in our nations and cultures. "We, who are the heirs of the slave-owning and slave-trading nations of the past, have to face the fact that our historic prosperity was built in large part on this atrocity," he said.
"Those who are the heirs of the communities ravaged by the slave trade know very well that much of their present suffering and struggling is the result of centuries of abuse."
Toyin Agbetu in 2007
Near the end of the service a human rights advocate name Toyin Agbetu began shouting: "This is an insult to us." He addressed the Queen saying "You should be ashamed. We should not be here... I want all the Christians who are Africans to walk out of here with me! He condemned African Christians for taking part and told them to walk out. Although he was visibly angry he was escorted out the Abbey without incident. Nearly 20 years later Agbetu is still involved in human rights issues.
From what I've read, Queen Elizabeth I first involved the royal family in the slave trade despite her personal misgivings because England was teetering on bankruptcy and the enticement of wealth through trafficking human beings was more than she could resist. While King Charles III has expressed remorse for the scourge of slavery the immense wealth of the royal family was enhanced by the trans-Atlantic slave trade as was the prosperity of so many other "lords and ladies."
What should the consequences be in terms of reparations? The Church of England has embarked on what has been a controversial initiative to raise £100 million for an investment fund to help repair damage caused by its historic links to slavery. The Anglican Church had invested large amounts of money into a company that transported tens of thousands of slaves.
While a report says this is not enough for "healing, justice, and repair" others argue that a struggling Church can't be held liable for the sins of the past.
We can't consider Black History without acknowledging the racist wrongs of past and present. What is our responsibility to atone for those sins?
1 comment:
We thought the slavery issue had been solved, and racism was over ... but, sadly, it all appears to be alive and well, especially south of our border, but I suspect a good deal of white supremacy still exists here...
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