Church Racial Justice Initiative Responds to Reparations Criticism

BIRMINGHAM, U.K. - April 17, 2025 - PRLog -- -
Issued by: West Midlands Racial Justice Initiative (WMRJI)
Contact: hello@wmracialjustice.org.uk

WMRJI Responds Fully to Criticism of Church Reparations:

Naming Colonial Reflex and Demanding Institutional Truthfulness

"Reparations are not optional acts of goodwill—they are sacred acts of repair."

The West Midlands Racial Justice Initiative (WMRJI) issues this response to the recent article published by Anglican Ink (10 April 2025), titled "Should the Church Commissioners Pay Slavery Reparations? Further Questions."

The article questions the legitimacy, legality, and theological basis of reparative efforts by the Church of England, notably Project Spire. WMRJI rejects this framing as fundamentally flawed and morally evasive.

Rather than entering serious theological and historical reflection, the article embodies what we name as a colonial reflex: a defensive instinct that emerges when historically privileged institutions or individuals are asked to account for and repair their role in racial harm. This reflex is not only institutional but personal—a deeply conditioned response rooted in colonial consciousness that spans social, cultural, and emotional dimensions.

A Colonial Reflex in Action

In this case, colonial reflex is characterised by three behaviours:

• Historical Revisionism: The article downplays the Church's role in and financial benefit from slavery, even implying that no substantial profit was made – a claim that directly contradicts historical records. The Church of England's own 2023 report confirmed financial ties to the South Sea Company, which trafficked thousands of enslaved Africans.
• Legal Obstructionism: Invoking charity law to resist reparations reflects an institutional desire to protect capital rather than conscience. The law is not morally neutral when it is used to shield institutions from justice.
• Moral Displacement: The article centres the discomfort of donors and parishioners over the lived realities of Black communities who have endured generations of racialised harm.

This reflex, whether conscious or not, stalls the necessary work of repentance and repair. It reflects a deep unwillingness to confront how transatlantic slavery built Britain's wealth – including that of cities and dioceses like Liverpool, Worcester, Bath and Wells, Bewdley, and Bristol. Churches in these regions were direct or indirect beneficiaries of systems that dehumanised Black people and commodified their labour. Many parishes were endowed with wealth derived from enslaved labour, and institutions still benefit from that accumulation today.

We Must Be Honest About the Church's Past

The Church of England was not merely a passive observer of the slave economy. It:

• Held investments in companies involved in the trade;
• Accepted endowments and tithes from slave-owning families;
• Upheld theological justifications of slavery for centuries;
• Failed, even after abolition, to challenge economic and racial disparities rooted in the transatlantic trade.

To suggest the Church made no profit is not only historically false, but also an affront to the dignity and memory of those whose lives were stolen and whose descendants continue to feel the effects.

Project Spire Is the Beginning, Not the End

The £100 million committed through Project Spire is a moral response to institutional sin. But it is only a starting point. Reparations must include:

• Financial investment in Black communities;
• Shared governance and decision-making with descendants of the enslaved;
• Liturgical and theological reckoning with Christianity's role in empire;
• Public education and truth-telling at parish and diocesan levels.

To dismiss this work as mere "activism" or institutional overreach is to ignore the Church's own teachings on repentance, repair, and reconciliation.

Internalised Denial: A Deeper Challenge

We also name with compassion a painful reality: some within Black communities have internalised the Church's minimisation of harm. This manifests in calls for patience, fear of rocking the boat, or apologetics that diminish the scale of trauma. But silence is not neutrality. It is complicity.

We honour the memory and courage of Black Anglicans, past and present, who have called the Church to justice. Their voices cannot be erased by convenience or caution.

WMRJI Remains Unshakeable in Its Commitment

WMRJI continues to:

• Work across six dioceses (Birmingham, Coventry, Gloucester, Hereford, Lichfield, Worcester);
• Deliver anti-racism training and theological education;
• Partner with the National Racial Justice Unit to implement systemic change.

We call on all Christians to reject the comfort of denial and step boldly into the discomfort of truth. Only then can we move from lament to transformation.

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds." (Romans 12:2)

-ENDS-

For further information or to request interviews, contact:
hello@wmracialjustice.org.uk

Notes to Editors

The West Midlands Racial Justice Initiative (WMRJI) is a regional programme of the Church of England committed to dismantling systemic racism and promoting racial equity across six dioceses: Birmingham, Coventry, Gloucester, Hereford, Lichfield, and Worcester.

Established in response to the From Lament to Action report and supported by the Church's National Racial Justice Unit, WMRJI provides theological education, strategic resources, and anti-racism training to churches, schools, cathedrals, and theological institutions.

Its work is rooted in Gospel values, aiming to build an inclusive Church where people of all racial and cultural backgrounds are welcomed, empowered, and able to flourish.