Church of England urged to build a $1.3 billion fund to tackle its legacy of slavery

The Church of England has welcomed a report that calls for it to spearhead the establishment of a £1 billion ($1.3 billion) fund to address its historical ties to slavery.

The Church of England has welcomed a report that calls for it to spearhead the establishment of a £1 billion ($1.3 billion) fund to address its historical ties to slavery. The document, released Monday, recommends that the church’s initial commitment of £100 million ($127 million) to the “Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice” should form the nucleus of a bigger initiative that would target assets of over £1 billion. The Church Commissioners group, which manages the church’s £10.3 billion ($13 billion) investments, has accepted the report “in full,” the church said in a statement. The report was drafted by an independent “oversight group” comprising mainly Black experts from various fields, recruited to advise the Commissioners on the new fund. Established last year following revelations that the Church had profited from the South Sea Company, which was involved in the transatlantic slave trade, the fund will invest in Black-led businesses focusing on education, economic empowerment, health and improving Black people’s access to land and food. The report also calls for the Church Commissioners to build up the value of the fund by bringing in co-investors while also increasing its own allocation.