JUSTICE in the wake of the Church’s “shameful” and “humbling” involvement in transatlantic chattel slavery can be achieved only through the pursuit of truth, a conference in Liverpool has heard.
The three-day event last week on the theme of “Truth Telling” was held jointly by the Church of England’s Racial Justice Unit and Dr Leona Vaughn, a senior research fellow for the University of Liverpool, with support from the diocese of Liverpool. More than 150 people from around the world attended.
Among the speakers was the Bishop of Edmonton, the Rt Revd Anderson Jeremiah, who said: “To embody the lived experiences of our people, our journey towards justice and peace must be grounded in truth-telling. Without accountability, without our commitment to speak, to listen, and, crucially, to live the truth, freedom and peace will remain distant and elusive. When we embrace the truth revealed in Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, it will set us free.”
The Archbishop of York, also addressing the conference, quoted the Ghanaian proverb “Until the lion has told his story, the hunter will always be a hero” to illustrate how the Church should acknowledge how individuals and institutions had benefited from profits from slavery. He had first heard the proverb in Ghana last November, when he was visiting the dungeons in the Cape Coast Castle which had been used to imprison enslaved Africans before they were put on ships to cross the Atlantic.
It was, Archbishop Cottrell said, “humbling that it was the Church of Jesus Christ that was so invested in the horrific hunting down, enslavement, and commodification of human beings that took place over many centuries, through transatlantic chattel enslavement. So, first of all, at this truth-telling conference, let us in the Church of England acknowledge that we have been humbled by this truth.”
Among those who attended were the C of E’s lead bishops for racial justice, the Bishop of Croydon, Dr Rosemarie Mallett, who preached at a special service in Liverpool Cathedral, and the Bishop of Kirkstall, the Rt Revd Arun Arora.
Other speakers included Professor William Pettigrew, a historian at the University of Lancaster, who has led research into the 11,000 investors — including Church of England clergy — in the transatlantic traffic in enslaved people. Among those who spoke by video link were Professor Kelly Brown Douglas, a Visiting Professor at Harvard Divinity School; Canon Stephanie Sellers, of the Episcopal Church in the US; and UNESCO representatives.
During the 18th century, Liverpool was Britain’s main slaving port. Ships carried around 1.5 million Africans across the Atlantic in crowded and insanitary conditions. As part of the conference, there was a tour of buildings near the Port of Liverpool, including Liverpool Parish Church, where some of the city’s wealthiest slave merchants were buried. After a local campaign, the church now has a memorial to Abell, an enslaved man brought to Liverpool and recorded as having been buried in the churchyard in 1717.
The Church of England’s deputy lead director for racial justice, the Revd Dr Sharon Prentis, said: “For years, the Church has been far too comfortable in a state of amnesia regarding the horrors of the transatlantic trade in enslaved people.”
The aim of the conference, she said, had been to “affirm that Christ as our compass, guides us as we confront the past concerning chattel slavery. Truth-telling enables the entire Church to address its history with honesty, so that it can in humility and with confidence seek justice, healing, and unity for all of God’s children.”