Slave trade victims need reparations, say church bodies
Posted: Wednesday, December 19, 2007, 7:20 (GMT)
Churches and society at large need to offer reparation to descendants of those enslaved, tortured and murdered by the transatlantic slave trade, says an international conference sponsored by three major ecumenical organisations.
The three organisations include the World Council of Churches (WCC), the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Council for World Mission (CWM).
Sixty theologians, church leaders and activists from Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas attended the event called "Abolished, but not Destroyed: Remembering the Slave Trade in the 21st Century" held 10 to 14 December in Runaway Bay, Jamaica.
The conference marked the 200th anniversary of the passing of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act of the British House of Commons. Between the 16th and 19th centuries an estimated 15 million Africans were forcibly removed from their homes and shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to become slaves in the Caribbean and the Americas.
"Many churches were actively involved in the transatlantic slave trade in Africans and colonialism; hence the church's mission has been seriously compromised and betrayed by its historic complicity with two of the most blatant forms of oppression that occurred within the 16th and 19th centuries," the statement says.
"Further, the church's pastoral and prophetic roles in the contemporary period are obstructed by its voluntary amnesia about its corporate sin and silence regarding the past - as well as regarding the present - responsibility to bring justice to those still suffering from the legacy of the transatlantic trade in Africans."
The church bodies also stated that "while there have been some acts of repentance and confessional statements made by some churches" these have largely "not been effective enough" in eradicating white supremacy, systemic racism and the ongoing legacy of the transatlantic trade in Africans.
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The comments below are readers' personal opinions and are in no way intended to reflect the editorial opinion of Christian Today.
Added: Wednesday, December 19, 2007, 17:36 (GMT)
As horrible as the slave trade was I can not be held responsible for the actions of my ancestors by giving money to those related to slaves and I can not repent for someone elses sins.
Bill
Bill Scudder, usa
Added: Wednesday, December 19, 2007, 11:27 (GMT)
Does this idea take into account the fact that it was African gangmasters themselves who sold their own people into slavery?
Jules, London UK
Added: Wednesday, December 19, 2007, 10:53 (GMT)
While I completely agree that slavery is an evil that should not be tolerated and a large blemish on the history of man, I have to wonder about restitution. Who decides how much money to give to people, how many people, do we give money to people who are known drug users because someone in there linage was a slave? And what about the Chinese they were slaves as well. The problem of slavery was not caused by my generation but we are expected to foot the bill as a way to say sorry and "that was wrong". We need to deal with the current situation of white supremacy and black victim mentality for they are both detrimental to the cause, but throwing money at something never makes it go away it just makes it look a little nicer.
MIke, Waterboro, ME
