The Guardian apologized

The Scott Foundation, which owns the newspaper, issued an apology for the role its founders played in transatlantic slavery.

The foundation said it plans to invest more than £10m in communities descended from people from whom the founders of The Guardian made a fortune in the 19th century.

The Scott Foundation apologized for the role of The Guardian and its founders in this crime against humanity, as well as for their early editorial positions that served to support the cotton industry and thus the exploitation of enslaved peoples.

The apology follows an independent academic study commissioned in 2020 to investigate whether there is any historical connection between slavery and John Edward Taylor, the journalist and cotton merchant who founded the newspaper in 1821, and other Manchester businessmen who funded its founding. .

The investigative report, published yesterday, revealed that at least 9 of Taylor’s and 11 of his followers had ties to slavery, particularly through the textile industry.

NEWS ABOUT BLACK COMMUNITIES WILL EXPAND

The foundation announced it will support projects in the Gullah Geechee region and Jamaica over the next 10 years, appoint a program manager and establish an advisory board to direct and review the work, with funding announced under the “restorative justice program.” .

He also announced that the newspaper would expand its coverage of black communities in the UK, US, Caribbean, South America and Africa.

The Scott Foundation said it will fund a new global scholarship program for black mid-career journalists and expand the Guardian Foundation’s educational scholarship program. (AA)