Cambridge University To Review Its Slavery Links
30 April 2019, 11:40 | Updated: 30 April 2019, 11:50
The University of Cambridge has said it will investigate how it benefited from and contributed to the slave trade in a bid to "acknowledge its role during that dark phase of human history."
The inquiry will focus on university archives and other records, searching for evidence of how the institution may have gained from slavery and the exploitation of labor, either financially or through bequests.
A specially commissioned Advisory Group has been asked to recommend appropriate ways to publicly acknowledge past links to slavery and to address its impact.
Vice-chancellor Professor Stephen Toope “We cannot change the past, but nor should we seek to hide from it. I hope this process will help the University understand and acknowledge its role during that dark phase of human history.”
The Advisory Group is expected to deliver its final report in autumn 2021.
Alongside its findings on historical links to the slave trade, the report will recommend appropriate ways for the University to publicly acknowledge such links and their modern impact.
