Windrush anniversary coincides with calls for slavery reparations

BY : Staff writer Christian Today

As the UK marks the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the Windrush generation, a delegation of Christians from Jamaica is visiting the country to meet fellow church leaders about financial restitution for the harm caused to black communities by slavery.

The delegation comprises members of the Church Reparation Action Forum (CRAF), which is leading the campaign in Jamaica for reparations.

They believe that UK churches that had some involvement in the transatlantic slave trade should consider making financial restitution to black communities that are still experiencing the harmful effects of slavery.

The delegation is meeting with representatives of Christian denominations and organisations, including the Quakers, Churches Together in England, the Evangelical Alliance, the Church of England, the New Testament Church of God, and the National Church Leaders Forum.

They are visiting the UK at the invitation of Street Pastors founder Les Isaacs, theologian Professor Robert Beckford, Professor of Racial and Climate Justice, Dr Jackie McCleod, and the leader of the Church of God of Prophecy, Bishop Tedroy Powell.

Rev Isaac said, “It’s time for the UK church across the denominational spectrum to have an honest, open and meaningful discussion about reparations. This tour will play a part in that process.”

CRAF co-founder Pastor Bruce Fletcher said, “A number of reports have highlighted the financial contribution enslaved Africans made to the world economy during the Atlantic slave trade for which they received nothing.

“It’s now time for businesses and church denominations that benefitted from the slave trade to make reparation to their descendants.

“It’s CRAF’s hope that whilst in Britain, we will move the case for reparations forward, and that the church will understand the part they have to play.”

Rev Dr Gordon Cowans, co-founder of CRAF stated: “It’s important to note that reparation is not just about making financial restitution. It entails Christians also seeking to redress the emotional and psychological harm enslavement caused within black communities.”

Their visit coincides with the 75th anniversary of the HMT Empire Windrush’s arrival in Britain on 22 June 1948, bringing hundreds of people from the Caribbean to help the country recover from World War Two.

The CRAF delegation will be special guests at the Windrush 75 National Service of Thanksgiving being held at Southwark Cathedral on Thursday afternoon.

Commemorations are being held across the country to mark the Windrush anniversary.

The King, who attended an anniversary service at Windsor Castle, said that the Windrush generation had made a “profound and permanent contribution to British life”.

The anniversary has been overshadowed by the Windrush scandal that unfolded in 2018 when members of the Windrush generation found themselves facing wrongful deportation or detention despite having the right to live in the UK. Many of them are still waiting for compensation.

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