United Kingdom Archives - Institute of the Black World 21st Century

BLM Protesters march through London towards Parliament Square

The global impact of George Floyd: How Black Lives Matter protests shaped movements around the world

By IBW21News & Current Affairs

George Floyd’s young daughter said, “Daddy changed the world.” These global protests show how right she was. By Jason Silverstein, CBS News — George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis in May 2020 sparked the largest racial justice protests in the United States since the Civil Rights Movement. But the movement went far beyond this nation’s borders — it inspired a global reckoning with racism. This time last year, countries across the globe had some of the largest…

June 8, 2021

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Campaigners slam UK government report into racial disparities as a ‘whitewash’

By IBW21News & Current Affairs

By Tara John, CNN — London (CNN)A highly anticipated report from a commission set up by the UK government to look into racial disparities in the country has been described as a “whitewash” by campaigners after it stated that there is no evidence that the UK is institutionally racist. A short summary of the report, commissioned in the wake of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests last summer, was shared to the…

March 31, 2021

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Prime-Minister-Gonsalves-chairing-CARICOM-meeting-910x512

CARICOM’s economic recovery and transformation – Need for serious collaboration and coordination

By IBW21News & Current Affairs

By: Kendol Morgan— G20 Summit Declaration: We remain determined to support all developing and least developed countries as they face the intertwined health, economic, and social effects of COVID-19, recognising the specific challenges in Africa and small-island developing states. Many of us remain fascinated by the ongoing crisis of democracy and governance which is taking place in the USA as COVID-19 is increasing there unchecked. President-elect Joe Biden has named his…

December 8, 2020

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Should Britain pay reparations for its part in the slave trade?

By IBW21Reparations

British banks, prime ministers and parish vicars made millions from the slave trade. Plus Wirecard’s missing billions. The toppling of slave owner Edward Colston’s statue amid the Black Lives Matter protests has raised some uncomfortable questions about the United Kingdom’s role in the slave trade. The transportation of more than a million Africans as part of the triangle trade helped build the British economy. Sir Hilary Beckles, vice-chancellor of the…

August 4, 2020

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The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, addresses the General Synod at Church House in London.

Church of England to apologize for being ‘deeply institutionally racist’

By IBW21News & Current Affairs

By Ivana Kottasová, CNN — The Church of England has decided to apologize for racism experienced by “countless black, Asian and minority ethnic people” over the past 70 years. The Church said in a statement that the General Synod, its legislative body, voted on last Tuesday to issue an official apology and commission an outside expert to prepare a report on racism, race and ethnicity in the church. Speaking at the synod,…

February 18, 2020

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The University of Glasgow is one of the oldest in the world but its new building was completed in the late 19th Century

Glasgow University’s ‘bold’ move to pay back slave trade profits

By IBW21Reparations

By Hannah Capella, BBC News — Glasgow University has agreed to raise and spend £20m in reparations after discovering it benefited by millions of pounds from the slave trade. It is believed to be the first institution in the UK to implement such a “programme of restorative justice”. The money will be raised and spent over the next 20 years on setting up and running the Glasgow-Caribbean Centre for Development…

September 4, 2019

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Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED)

UK Unions & Allies Meet in Manchester to Advance Public Ownership of Energy

By IBW21Editors' Choice

By Trade Unions for Energy Democracy — On July 9-10, 2019, unions and allies in the UK came together in Manchester for a two-day working meeting. Titled Energy Transition and Economy-Wide Decarbonisation, the meeting carried forward recent discussions on how unions and close allies can work with the Labour Party to shape its commitments on extending public control over the power sector, and the Party’s strategy for decarbonisation. The event…

July 24, 2019

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The Trump baby blimp is set to fly over London as part of mass protests against the U.S. president's state visit.

A Demagogue, Fascist, and Serious Threat: UK Mobilizes to Make Sure Trump Knows He ‘Is Not Welcome’

By IBW21News & Current Affairs

“Donald Trump is just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat. The far-right is on the rise around the world, threatening our hard-won rights and freedoms.” By Jake Johnson, Common Dreams — With the city of London effectively on “lockdown” in anticipation of the protests—complete with the now-famous Trump Baby Blimp—that are expected to flood the city’s streets on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump touched down in…

June 4, 2019

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When Franco Rosso’s “Babylon” premièred at Cannes, in 1980, it was hailed for its soulful depictions of a community largely invisible in British media.Photograph Courtesy Kino Lorber Repertory / Seventy-Seven

What “Babylon” Captured About Racism and Reggae

By IBW21Editors' Choice

By Hua Hsu, The New Yorker — In June, 1948, the H.M.T. Empire Windrush docked in the Port of Tilbury, near London. Among its passengers were approximately eight hundred West Indian workers, mostly from Jamaica, who had come in response to England’s postwar labor shortage. Some planned to earn money and return home; others wondered what it would be like to stay. There was a lot of work to be…

March 8, 2019

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‘A reparative justice programme’ … Glasgow University has completed a two-year review of how it grew wealthy from the slave trade. Photograph: University of Glasgow

Reparations for slavery are not about punishing children for parents’ sins

By IBW21Editors' Choice, Reparations

Reparative justice, whereby communities are compensated for losses caused by the slavery or the Holocaust, is morally fair. By Julian Baggini, The Guardian — Justice requires a good memory, one that is both accurate and not self-servingly selective. But whether it is well-served by a long memory is more contentious. We know that many still pay the price for sins previous generations never paid for. But most agree with the…

December 3, 2018

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It’s time for Scotland to make reparations for slavery

By IBW21Commentaries/Opinions, Reparations

Scotland should take responsibility for the major and highly lucrative role it played in the transatlantic slave trade. By Elliot Ross, Al Jazeera — The late Jamaican-British intellectual Stuart Hall liked to describe the entanglement of the United Kingdom with the peoples of Africa and the Caribbean with the provocation: “I am the sugar at the bottom of the English cup of tea. I am the sweet tooth, the sugar plantations that rotted…

November 30, 2018

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Vice Chancellor of The University of the West Indies (UWI) Sir Hilary Beckles

Glasgow University To Pay Reparations For £200m Extracted From Region

By IBW21Reparations

The Jamaica Gleaner — Vice Chancellor of The University of the West Indies (UWI) Sir Hilary Beckles has reported that The University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom (UK) is planning to pay reparations for £200 million (approximately J$34 billion) taken from the Caribbean. According to Beckles, who recently returned from the UK, “The University of Glasgow has recognised that Jamaican slave owners had adopted the University of Glasgow as…

November 26, 2018

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