Posted on: 26th June 2025

This was a day event jointly funded by the Centre for Religion and Public Life at the University of Leeds, Leeds Church Institute and United Society Partners in the Gospel Aims: The event aimed to promote deeper learning and discussion about racism within churches, considering the impact of the transatlantic slave trade and the contemporary context of the Black Lives Matter movement.

History and Legacy
The documentary film “After the Flood” shown at the start of the day explored the history of slavery, specifically focusing on the transatlantic slave trade, the neglect of slavery in British Christian history and the lasting impact on attitudes about race today. The film explored biblical justifications used to support slavery and the concept of whiteness, looking at how this influenced racism and the need for reconciliation today.

A legacy of unjust systems and disadvantage continues; institutional racism, lack of representation and inclusion. This was a continuing theme in small group discussions and a well-informed plenary panel, and asking the question of how a black Christian makes sense of the white narrative, which was used to justify slavery. An uncomfortable truth emerges when the history of Christian slavery is explored in terms of unlearning racism to identify who still has the power and continues to benefit.

Leeds Church Institute
The afternoon started with Dwayne Hutchinson from LCI introducing the work of Churches Against Racism, a positive, uplifting and well-informed input. Black clergy shared their theological and personal experiences. Black academics presented how faith and race informed their framework of reference. These presentations and contributions from those around the room had a deep and lasting impact. To listen to lived experiences and the pain that is carried through the generations lifted this conference out of the ordinary and into a challenge to think and act differently. It gave SPARK a profile with a largely new group of people, and some useful personal contacts were made and will be followed up. There are a number of resources from LCI and UPSG, and if you want to discuss anything from this paper, just email me at sparks.jandp@dioceseofleeds.org.uk

Read the full article by Kathy Shaw in the Justice and Peace Commission Newsletter here.