The Council begins an audit of all public landmarks, statues, road names and works of art for any links with slavery
By Olayiwola Balogun – The role of the United Kingdom in the Transatlantic Traffic in Enslaved Africans (TTEA) which saw at least 15 million Africans forcibly trafficked to the Western Hemisphere with many thousands losing their lives during the crossing from Africa to the Americas on British Ships was tabled at the London Borough of Lambeth’s July Full Council meeting.
Labour led Lambeth council presented and passed a motion calling on the government to launch a commission, commit to reparations, and overhaul the country’s curriculum to address the UK’s role. The Labour motion was jointly prepared with the Greens, showing the significant cross party unity on this issue.
This motion follows Lambeth Labour’s emergency motion in support of the Black Lives Matter movement at full council in June, and Lambeth’s announcement that we have begun an audit of all our borough’s public landmarks, statues, road names and works of art for any links with slavery.
A great deal of the wealth of the United Kingdom was founded on this vile crime against humanity, and the legacies of chattel, colonial and neocolonial forms of enslavement are still prevalent in our society today.
Cllr Sonia Winifred, Cabinet Member for Equalities and Culture, said: “I am extremely pleased to share that at Lambeth full council last night we passed a motion on reparative justice, requesting that this government supports a parliamentary commission of enquiry for truth and justice in accordance with the UN framework for reparations. This comes as part of our continuing efforts to tackle racism and racial inequality in Lambeth, including: our equalities commission, launching the audit into statues and monuments with links to slavery, and our strong support of the Black Lives Matter movement.”
“The motion importantly recognises the innovative work carried out by The Runnymede Trust, The Black Curriculum and others in engaging young people and teachers with more expansive and inclusive histories of Britain, and campaigning to overhaul the curriculum to better educate about the UK’s role in slavery. In Lambeth, we are already supporting this work to take place and we want to make sure that is happens around the country.”
At the same meeting, Lambeth Labour submitted a motion titled ‘Black Lives Matter – Take Action Now!’ which welcomed the work Lambeth is doing as a leading local authority in the country to tackle racism and racial inequality in aspects of life in our Borough. The motion calls on the council to renew its commitment to fighting racism within the council and in Lambeth more widely, and calls on the government to engage with our Lambeth Equality Commission, to focus on implementing the full recommendations of the Windrush and Lammy Reviews, and to take urgent and immediate action to counter the disproportionate impact Covid-19 is having on Black Asian and Minority Ethnic people in the UK.
Cllr Sonia Winifred added: “The Black Lives Matter movement, the Pan-African Liberation Movement, the International Decade for People of African Descent Coalition UK and other organisations within Black communities are campaigning to eliminate the racism and inequality which persists in our society. In Lambeth Labour we know that true solidarity means actions, not just words – which is why we not only give our vocal support to their aims but support them with action too.”
“Whether it’s through the implementation of recommendations from our Lambeth Equality Commission, our ‘Raising the Game’ initiative to close the attainment gap for Black Caribbean pupils, or our campaigning on the Windrush scandal and fighting against the hostile environment – I am proud of the work Lambeth continues to do to root out and eliminate racism and racial discrimination wherever it rears its head.”
The Labour group said, “we deplore a situation where the beneficiaries of the genocide and ecocide of African people and their environments, including many institutions and families in the UK, continue to benefit but have not made reparations, while the descendants of the victims continue to suffer racism, discrimination and inequality.
“One of the most visible and enduring legacies of African enslavement, colonisation and neocolonialism is systematic racism that exists within Western societies, which the Pan-African Liberation Movement, the Black Lives Matter Movement, the International Decade for People of African Descent Coalition UK and other organisations within Black communities are campaigning to eliminate. The systematic racism that is ingrained in our society manifests itself in inequality in education, housing, health, employment and the criminal justice system.”
The legacy of slavery is responsible for ingraining racial inequality within Western society, that manifests itself both in overt acts of violent racism, such as the death of George Floyd at the hands of American police, Black deaths in police, prison, psychiatric custody and immigration detention in the UK, or in institutional failings to provide sufficient support and care for Black communities, such as the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on Black people in the UK.
Whilst the United Kingdom abolished slavery in 1833, it did so only after 200 years of profiting from it. When abolishing slavery it paid £20 million, the equivalent of £17 billion today, to ‘compensate’ enslavers, whilst those, which were enslaved, were not compensated at all. Further that this was not paid off until 2015.
Lambeth has one of the largest populations of people of African descent in the country.
Council further notes that: The United Nations ‘Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to A Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law’ provides a framework for a comprehensive reparatory justice process.
The International Decade for People of African Descent, proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 68/237 and to be observed from 2015 to 2024, provides an opportunity for the United Nations, Member States, civil society and all other relevant actors to join together with people of African descent and take effective measures for the implementation of the programme of activities in the spirit of recognition, justice and development.
The work of Dr Nicola Frith, Professor Joyce-Hope-Scott, the Pan-Afrikan Reparations Coalition in Europe (PARCOE), the International Network of Scholars & Activists For Afrikan Reparations (INOSAAR) and their Principles of Participation which have been endorsed by the International Social Movement for Afrikan Reparations (ISMAR) and a global process of engagement in the UK, the US, Africa and the Caribbean.
The CARICOM Reparation Commission has worked on a path to reconciliation, truth, and justice for the victims of slavery and their descendants. Further to this, it campaigns on the moral, ethical and legal case for the payment of reparations by the Governments of all former colonial powers and relevant institutions of those countries to the nations and people of the Caribbean Community for the Crimes against Humanity of Native Genocide, the TTEA and a racialised system of chattel Slavery.
In 1993 Bernie Grant, MP tabled Early Day Motion (EDM) #1987 in the House of Commons welcoming the Abuja Proclamation after the first Pan-African Conference on Reparations sponsored by the Organisation of African Unity urging all countries who were enriched by enslavement and colonisation to review the case for reparations for “Africa and to Africans in the Diaspora”.
In 2003 the Lambeth based Black Quest for Justice Campaign (BQJC) initiated a class action for Pan-African Reparations for Global Justice against Queen Elizabeth II and agents of the Crown as Head of State and Head of the British Commonwealth calling for the establishment of a Reparations Commission of Inquiry. This action was denied on the grounds that the Crown could not be prosecuted, and these crimes could not be enforced prior to the enactment of the International Criminal Courts Act in 2001.
In 2004 the Rastafarian movement were denied their appeal for reparation because the UK government felt it could not be held responsible for events of past centuries.
Since 2015, the Stop the Maangamizi Campaign (The Maangamizi is the African Holocaust of chattel, colonial and neocolonial forms of enslavement) in association with the Afrikan Emancipation Day Reparations March Committee have been organising the annual Afrikan Emancipation Day Reparations March. The campaign presented the Stop the Maangamizi Petition to the Office of the UK Prime Minister calling for the establishment an All-Party Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry for Truth and Reparatory Justice.
It is institutions such as the Black Cultural Archives and the International Museum of Slavery which effectively teach people about the history of the TTEA and its legacy, not statues of enslavers like Edward Colston or Robert Clayton.
The national curriculum fails to educate our nation’s children and young people about the history of slavery and its repercussions.
Council welcomes: The announcement that Lambeth is conducting an audit of all Lambeth’s public landmarks, statues roads names and works of art in the borough for any links with slavery by Cllr Sonia Winifred, and the consultation which will follow on the results of the audit.
The celebration of Windrush Day 2020 on 22nd June, and the contribution of Cllr Sonia Winifred, Lambeth Council, and organisations in Lambeth such as the Black Cultural Archives in campaigning for justice for the Windrush generation, and for a permanent Windrush memorial in Windrush Square.
Council resolves: To call on the UK government to establish a commission to study the impact of the United Kingdom’s Transatlantic Traffic in Enslaved Africans on social, political and economic life within the UK and the rest of the world in order to begin understanding the legacy of slavery on the society we live in and to start conversations on how to address it, which go further than a symbolic apology.
Write to the Speaker of Parliament, Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee and Chair of the Home Affairs Committee to request that they establish, and seek UK Government support for, an All-Party Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry for Truth and Reparatory Justice and call on the Government to commit to holistic reparations taking into consideration various proposals for reparations in accordance with the United Nations Framework on Reparations.
To support the innovative work which has been carried out by the Runnymede Trust, the Black Curriculum and others to engage young people and teachers with more expansive, representative and inclusive histories of Britain, and to overhaul the curriculum to better educate about the United Kingdom’s role in slavery.
Council notes that: Following the death of George Floyd at the hands of American police, the Black Lives Matter movement has gained serious momentum and is now rightly forcing us all to engage with conversations around the racism and racial inequality that exists within our society.
The Prime Minister has announced he will set up a new commission to look at all aspect of inequality, but that commission is set to be led by an adviser who has previously rejected the existence of structural racism.
In 2017 Lambeth established the Lambeth Equality Commission to identify the scale of inequality in our borough and to set out what we can all do to tackle it.
In 2018 a number of Black staff at Lambeth wrote a letter to the chief executive and the Leader of the council to address the racism that they were experiencing in the workplace.
Council further notes that: Following the recommendations of the Lambeth Equality Commission and the letter from Black staff concerning racism in the council, the council has taken and continues to take measures to address racism and racial inequality.
An independent equality and diversity adviser, Patrick Vernon OBE, was appointed to review the council’s approach in this area and released a report last year with a series of recommendations, including a new board to monitor progress on the council’s work to implement the recommendations of the PV report, a ‘Statement of Common Understanding on Racism’ that was agreed with staff, councillors and trade unions and increased investment in staff development and support.
Lambeth Council increased the recruitment target for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic senior staff at the council to 59% within 3 years, so that our senior staff reflect the workforce and communities as a whole. The council has increased representation of ethnic minority staff in the top 5% of roles from 24% to 35% since 2018.
The ‘Raising the Game’ initiative focuses on closing the attainment gap between Black Caribbean pupils and their peers, as well as reducing disproportionate exclusion levels for this group. Schools within the Raising the Game initiative improved their results of Black Caribbean pupils by 11% from 2018. Permanent exclusions of Black Caribbean pupils are down from 15 to 4 from last year according to 2019 data. This is still disproportionate but a significant improvement.
Lambeth has been a leading local authority in campaigning on the Windrush scandal and fighting against the hostile environment. Most recently, our Cabinet Member for Equalities and Culture, Cllr Winifred (a member of the Windrush generation herself), wrote a letter that went out to all residents encouraging people affected as part of the Windrush scandal to apply to the Windrush Compensation Scheme.
Initiatives such as ELEVATE, Lambeth’s mission to open up the creative and cultural sector for all young people, are essential in breaking down the barriers that exist within our society to opportunity for young people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities.
The Council welcomes: The measures that Lambeth Council and community organisations such as Black Thrive are taking to address racism and racial inequality within our borough, but acknowledges that there is still much more work to do.
The indication that the Prime Minister wishes to address racism and racial inequality in the UK due to his announcing of a commission to look at all aspects of inequality, but fears that this commission will result in a set of recommendations that are not adopted by government, delayed, or not properly met – such as has been the case with the Windrush Review and the Lammy Review.
Resolution
Council resolves to: Renew commitment to fighting racism wherever is rears its ugly head, and to continue to work to dismantle racial inequality both within the council and in our borough more widely.
Share the findings of the Lambeth Equality Commission and details of the steps we have taken in relation to its findings to address racial inequality in Lambeth with the government.
Call on the government to focus on implementing the full recommendations from existing and recent reviews relating to racism and racial inequality within the UK, such as the Windrush Review and the Lammy Review mentioned above.
Call on the government to immediately take action to counter the disproportionate effect of Covid-19 on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people in the UK.
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