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The Guardian has apologized to its founders for their involvement in the transatlantic slave trade.
The Scott Trust, which owns the Guardian Media Group, has pledged £10 million (US$12.3 million) to communities linked to the work of journalist John Edward Taylor, who founded the newspaper in 1821.
“The Scott Trust’s Legacy of Slavery Report, released Tuesday, revealed that at least nine of Taylor and his 11 supporters have ties to slavery, primarily through the textile industry.” said Amna Modin, the newspaper’s community correspondent.
“Taylor has established multiple connections through partnerships with cotton producers Oakden & Taylor and cotton trading company Shuttleworth Taylor & Co., who imported vast quantities of raw cotton produced by enslaved people in the Americas. I had.”
Funding from the Trust will support projects in the United States and Jamaica over the next 10 years, following consultation with experts and community groups.
Guardian Media Group operates UK, Australian, New Zealand and US editions.
apology for slavery
The media group’s move comes as Western institutions, including the Church of England, the Dutch prime minister, Harvard University in the US and the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, have apologized and paid reparations for their past links to slavery. .
“It is impossible to look out over the city from this building, and it is impossible not to see how the landscape has been shaped by the wealth generated from colonialism and slavery.” I have written Governor Robert Aldridge of Edinburgh.
“The influence of colonialism and slavery is deeply ingrained in the structure, buildings and facilities of our city and even the layout of Edinburgh.”
The rise of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, sparked by the death of George Floyd in 2020, has raised calls to address slavery.
One criticism, however, is the oversimplification of the dynamics and history surrounding slavery, which was widespread throughout much of history.
For example, by some estimates, the Arab trade was millions Compared to transatlantic trade, Africans were enslaved and deported to other regions.
Moreover, the slave trade really came to an end after a campaign by Christian conservative William Wilberforce.
This prompted the British government to abolish the practice in 1807 (under King George III) and send the Royal Navy to enforce the ban.
Links to Marxism
A further concern with the slavery discourse is its explicit focus on “white oppression.” Some experts say this is just a cover to promote critical race theory (CRT).
The CRT is an offshoot of Marxism, which sees society as a constant battle between classes: the “oppressors” versus the “oppressed” classes.
In the case of the US CRT, the oppressors are “white” individuals and institutions, and it is the “black” who are oppressed.
In other countries, the oppressors are settlers from England in the case of Australia, from England and France in the case of Canada, and it is the indigenous communities that are oppressed.
In modern times, CRT campaigners often seek to provoke the oppressed class (and their sympathetic partners) to “overthrow” or “abolish” the oppressor’s institutions and discourse.
Campaigners talk about helping oppressed communities, but the reality is that their efforts often have little grassroots impact.
In Australia in particular, how a campaign to change the country’s constitution to incorporate an “advisory body” for Aboriginal people into Parliament has helped address issues such as Aboriginal domestic violence, alcoholism and youth. It’s been deprecated for lacking details about what it’s useful for. delinquency, and welfare dependence.
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