Church hires race equality director

THE Church of England has appointed its first director for racial equality, it was announced last week.

Guy Hewitt, an Anglican priest and a former Barbados high commissioner to the UK, will take up the post in November. He will lead the church’s Racial Justice Unit.

The announcement last Tuesday (23) was followed by an apology for the church’s involvement in the trafficking and enslavement of Africans.

The report, titled From Lament to Action, was produced by the archbishops’ Anti-Racism Task Force. Published in April last year, it served as the basis for the unit’s creation.

Hewitt said: “I am humbled by the confidence of those who have chosen me to serve as the inaugural director, and look forward to what I plan to be a participatory and inclusive process of restoration.

“The indelible link between our faith and public life is reinforced at confirmation with our vow to defend the weak, and to seek peace and justice.”

Hewitt will collaborate with the Archbishops’s Commission for Racial Justice to ensure the taskforce’s recommendations and the commission’s work are carried out.

William Nye, the secretarygeneral of the Archbishops’ council, said: “This is a vital post, helping the church address the challenges of racial justice, and helping the church speak to this agenda nationally.”

Hewitt, a London native of Barbadian and Indian ancestry, has a background in social policy and development.