Talking reparatory justice with Bristol institutions

The toppling of Colston’s statue catapulted Bristol onto the global stage and opened what has been described as “a huge opportunity for real change”.

It is under this international gaze that conversations about reparatory justice in the city are now taking place, but it is part of a long, ongoing journey for the many who have been campaigning for years.

An atonement and reparations motion will be tabled at an extraordinary full council meeting on March 2. Put forward by Labour deputy mayor Asher Craig and Green councillor for Cotham Cleo Lake, it will call for Bristol to support a national dialogue and process around reparations and addressing ongoing inequalities.

It follows the establishment of a History Commission to examine Bristol’s true heritage and the launch of a new Diversity Commission, set up by London mayor Sadiq Khan to consider whether statues and street names in the capital properly reflect its history.

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Read more: Mayor to launch commission to research Bristol’s true history

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Speaking during a public meeting on Tuesday, chaired by Jendayi Serwah of the Afrikan ConneXions Consortium, Bristol mayor Marvin Rees spoke of the need for those in leadership to get the response to racial injustice right.

“If racism is about wealth and power then dealing with the legacy has to be about questions of wealth and power,” said Rees.

“We get caught up in symbolism because it’s easy to access symbolic acts without doing the hard parts, which is looking at real policy and reality; housing, education, business ownership and so forth.

“When we are thinking about racism, it’s right here, right now. People are being born today with lower life expectancies; we have seen these inequalities with Covid-19.

“We are not on a level playing field. This is the challenge for everyone; you have got to get it right.

“However issues are handled, it has to be right because people depending on changes to our politics and economy don’t have time for people in a position of leadership to get it wrong.

“We have to get our response to racism and historical racial hierarchy right first time.”

Major institutions in the city – including the University of Bristol and diocese – have benefitted either directly or indirectly from the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans and the importance of reparatory justice within these organisations was at the heart of Tuesday’s conversations – the second in a citywide series.

Reparations are the process of making amends for wrongs committed.

Professor Judith Squires, deputy vice-chancellor of Bristol University and reverend doctor Mandy Ford, dean of Bristol Cathedral, spoke of actions being taken within their institutions and how they are listening to those affected by injustices.

Dr Joanna Burch-Brown, a senior lecturer in philosophy at the university said Bristol must rise to the occasion while it is on a world stage.

“There is a huge opportunity at this moment – we have had a statue fall and that’s a moment where the structures wobble and there’s a chance for real change,” said Dr Burch-Brown, adding that the change must be led by communities most affected by racial injustice, and in particular the young.

Cleo Lake (pictured with Judah Adunbi) has twice before put forward reparations motions to Bristol City Council – photo by Ellie Pipe

In July, Lambeth Council passed a motion calling on the government to begin an atonement and reparation process for the UK’s transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans.

Scott Ainslie, the Green deputy leader of Lambeth Council, spoke of how it is within grassroots communities that the journey for justice can begin, where people “have to think globally and act locally”.

Kofi Mawuli Klu of the Stop the Maangamizi We Charge Genocide & Ecocide Campaign, lobbies on a global platform for change. The campaign focuses on the need to stop the ongoing harm in order to begin the process of repairing the damage.

“It is humbling to note how far reparations discussions in the UK have come,” he said.

“In terms of discussing with allies this issue, it’s quite interesting where we are meeting with Marvin now heading the city of Bristol. I’m glad progress is made on this issue.

“This is also a time when we need to reflect on where we are. We are in very dangerous times, for African people across the world. This is really about the African global cause of reparatory justice.

“There is a reluctance to hear the voices of African people across the world of what reparations mean to them.

“It is not just about doing for Africans, it’s about bringing all of us as humanity back to discovering ourselves as one family. We are seeking a new world in which African sovereignty is restored, which recreates a new world of global justice for all.”

Further information about ongoing work and future events are available via Project Truth.

Main photo by Phil Riley

Read more: Call for Truth and Reparatory Justice Commission on transatlantic slave trade