Plea to city after report reveals link to slavery at Rowntree

YORK MUST confront “uncomfortable truths” about its past, according to a city councillor, after a review into the history of the confectioners the Rowntree Company exposed historic racial injustices that pose questions about the legacy of social reformer Joseph Rowntree.

The review, which was commissioned in the wake of last year’s Black Lives Matter protests, has shown the Rowntree Company may have benefitted from products made by enslaved people, and also from a form of slavery known as colonial indenture in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Four charities and trusts that still bear the name of Joseph Rowntree, who set up the company, united earlier this week to express they were “appalled” at the review’s findings, and have committed to further research.

The review, by the Rowntree Society, said: “Although what is known has not been actively ‘hidden’, it has not formed part of the public presentation of Rowntree history.”

There is no suggestion that Joseph Rowntree himself was aware or complicit in the practises.

Coun Darryl Smalley, City of York Council’s executive member for culture, leisure & communities, said: “The Black Lives Matter movement, which has inspired research such as this to take place, has helped to shine a light on the uncomfortable truths and history which as a city we must confront.

“Just as we have a moral obligation to speak out against the injustice we’re witnessing across the world, we also can’t ignore the fact that racism, unfortunately, is not only a part of our history but is still present in our society.”

A spokesperson for Quakers in Britain said: “Building a true picture of the history and legacies of racial exploitation in Quaker companies is an important part of owning and understanding our own history, and is informing our ongoing work to become an antiracist church.”