Latest update August 31st, 2026 10:17 AM
Aug 21, 2023 Letters
Dear Editor,
The heirs of a slave owning family is following in the footsteps of the heirs of another slave owning family in offering apologies and making a contribution. That the Gladstone family will be featured at an event hosted by the University of Guyana (UG) to observe the bicentennial year of the 1823 uprising is historical as it is significant.
Not so long ago, the Trevelyan family of which renowned former British broadcaster, Laura Trevelyan, traveled to the Caribbean island of Grenada and publicly apologised for her family’s ownership of slaves. She also pledged a personal contribution. Ms. Trevelyan has since quit her job at the BBC to actively campaign as a ‘full-time roving advocate’ for reparation justice for the descendants of slaves in the Caribbean.
These small but significant steps by these two families can be a catalyst for others to come forward and do what is right for the descendants of African slaves not only in the Caribbean but in other jurisdictions.
UG must be commended in its efforts in getting the Gladstone heirs to come and be a part of its ‘Legacies and the Future’ commemorative event.
Reparative justice for the Caribbean is a long, hard, work in progress, but the fact that some families can recognize and accept that their role in slavery was wrong while seeking to make tangible amends means some justice is being served in small ways. If they can do it, then participating governments, in what has been described as the greatest crime against humanity, must do it too.
Sincerely,
Shamshun Mohamed
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