Jamaican delegation makes the case for reparations

Report: The visit of the Jamaican delegation to Britain to make the case for reparations, and its engagement with the Racial Justice Advocacy Forum – 6 September to 9 September 2026

Background

The Racial Justice Advocacy Forum (RJAF), the Jamaican Government and members of the Jamaican ‘Churches Reparation Action Forum’ (CRAF), organised a series of events in early September 2026, to mark the visit by a delegation from Jamaica to Britain, to petition King Charles III for reparations for Transatlantic African chattel enslavement (TACE).

Church service – Carry Wi Story: Lest We Forget

The church service was titled: Carry Wi Story: Lest We Forget – a service of Remembrance, Justice and Repair at New Park Road Baptist Church, Streatham, south London on 6 September 2026. The service featured contributions from the Hon. Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, the Jamaica Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Jamaican High Commissioner, H.E. Alexander Williams, the Hon. Bell Ribeiro-Addy, MP, the team from New Park Road Baptist Church, the RJAF, Christian Aid, and an array of figures from the British church. Revd Karl Johnson from the Jamaica Baptist Union preached the sermon, and the service also included Gospel music, poetry, reflections and drumming. The service can be seen on YouTube.

Gathering with key Black Church Leaders

On 8 September 2026, the RJAF and Christian Aid hosted a gathering involving the 12-strong Jamaican delegation, led by the Hon. Olivia Grange, and H.E. Alexander Williams, and over 50 British church leaders, (largely from the Black Church), at the CTBI/Christian Aid offices in Waterloo, London. CTBI/RJAF’s Richard Reddie welcomed guests, and the Revd Dr Tessa Henry-Robinson opened the meeting in prayer. Other contributions at the meeting included Bell Ribeiro-Addy, MP, and the Hon. Olivia Grange, who stated that the petition was presented to representatives of King Charles III outside Buckingham Palace on 7 September. The King will then hand over the petition to the Privy Council. The petition is seeking answers to legal questions about whether the practices of TACE were ever lawful under English Common Law or international law, and the remedies that would apply in the case of unlawful conduct being recognised.

A discussion/Q&A then took place that was facilitated by Christian Aid’s Joseph Vambe and the URC’s Karen Campbell, which was an opportunity for church leaders and other guests to engage directly with Minister Olivia Grange, and members of the Jamaican delegation. It was noted that Christianity has a powerful anti-slavery tradition, and that reparations was a justice issue that is an inextricable aspect of the Gospel. Equally, the churches on these shores have an important role to play in conscientising and influencing public opinion. The meeting also noted the international aspect of the conversation, and that there was a need for collaboration and partnerships.

Roundtable Gathering

On 9 September 2026 the RJAF organised a hybrid meeting between the Jamaican delegation and British and Irish churches, parachurches and mission agencies, at the CTBI offices. The meeting included around 25 people in-person, and a further 10 online (via the Teams platform). The gathering sought to bring together churches from across Britain, Ireland, Jamaica, the Caribbean and the USA, and had strategic aims such as:

• Creating greater opportunities for information sharing and learning on reparations between churches across the Atlantic.
• Building strategic partnerships between Britain, Ireland and Jamaica/Caribbean.
• Stimulating greater interest and inspiring more action on reparations, especially among those church groups that have yet to engage with this matter.
• Giving greater energy and impetus to the crafting of a British/Irish church-related statement on reparations.

The meeting featured initial contributions from CTBI’s Richard Reddie, and its General Secretary, Dr Nicola Brady, who spoke about the importance of reparations, and CTBI’s engagement with the topic via its various programmatic work streams. RJAF’s Revd Wale Hudson-Roberts facilitated presentations from several organisations and individuals who provided updates on their work, such as the Church of England (Project Spire initiative), the Church of Scotland, the Movement for Justice and Reconciliation, the USPG, the Sam Sharpe Project, Prof. Anne Bailey (CRAF) and Revd Dr Gordon Cowan (CRAF).

The Jamaican delegation then spoke about the bi-partisan (cross-party) political support for their work in Jamaica. The petition has the support of CARICOM, and the Ghanaian government. They noted that the Church is considered as being very important in this effort.

A general discussion then took place exploring many of the above mentioned topics.

Opening Prayer for the gathering with key Black Church Leaders – Revd Dr Tessa Henry-Robinson

God of Life and Liberation,
We give thanks for bringing us together this afternoon,
and especially for our friends who have travelled from Jamaica.

For familiar faces, and friendships renewed,
and for the commitment to justice that has brought us together again, we give you thanks.

Life-giving God, yesterday our friends from Jamaica carried their petition concerning the transatlantic trafficking of Africans to Buckingham Palace where it was received by a British government official and Palace staff.

And despite the UK administration’s immediate pushback, we thank you that the petition was received, and pray now for what follows.

May what has been received, also be heard.
May the truth it carries be taken seriously,
and may those with the power to respond have the courage to do so.

Loving God of our ancestors, you know the history that brings us to this moment.
You knew those who were taken from Africa, trafficked and enslaved.
You knew their names when others treated them brutally — as property.
You heard their cries and their prayers.
And you were present in their struggle to live, and to be set free.

Keep us faithful to their memory as we seek justice in our own time.

Liberating God, as I joined the Carry Wi Story; Lest We Forget service online on Sunday, I participated in the deep lament within it.
And understood something more deeply about a broken hallelujah. It is protest, lament and praise.

We know something about that kind of praise.
Praise offered while carrying grief.
Lament for what has been lost.
Faith that lives with questions still open.
Trust in you while justice is still being sought.

So, as we bring our broken hallelujah this afternoon, receive what we carry within it, including our longing for repair.

And as we turn today to the work of reparations, give us wisdom for the conversation.
Help us to listen well and speak truthfully.
Keep before us the lives of those whose suffering made this work necessary,
and the generations who continue to live with its consequences.

God, strengthen our friends from Jamaica.
After yesterday’s petition and through the conversations that lie ahead,
sustain them in the work they have undertaken.

And keep all of us open to your future: a future in which truth is faced, human dignity is honoured, and the work of repair is undertaken.

We offer this prayer through Jesus Christ, who proclaimed good news to the poor, and freedom for the oppressed
Amen.

Photos © Lilian Reddie