ST KITTS and Nevis is set to discuss slavery reparations with a British pub giant over its historical links to the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Officials in the Caribbean twin-island nation have arranged meetings with Greene King – which is Britain’s leading pub company and brewer, The Sunday Telegraph has reported.
According to the newspaper, Benjamin Greene – who started the company in 1799 – owned 231 people in St Kitts during slavery.
Greene also owned a plantation in Montserrat and was compensated around £500,000 in today’s money when slavery was abolished in 1833.
Carla Astaphan, the head of the St Kitts and Nevis reparations committee, told The Sunday Telegraph: “They have acknowledged that the genesis of the company shows a direct link to the enslavement of
Africans and that owners received compensation after abolition.”
Astaphan also said that reparations should be made.
Pledge
During the height of Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, the pub chain pledged to donate money to Black communities to address the historical links of its founder’s role in slavery.
The company also vowed to become a ‘truly anti-racist organisation’ and promote racial inclusion.
Responding to the newspaper article, Nick Mackenzie, chief executive officer at Greene King, said: “It is inexcusable that one of our founders profited from slavery and argued against its abolition in the 1800s.
“In 2020, we took decisive action, publishing an action plan for how we can play our part in Calling Time on Racism.
“Since then we have been working hard to become a truly anti-racist organisation and have invested, and continue to invest, in supporting race diversity in our business, the pubs sector and our wider
communities.”
Mackenzie added: “But we know we still have more to do on this agenda. Our focus will continue to be on listening to our teams’ priorities and acting to ensure racism and discrimination have no place
within our company or broader society.”
Greene King was founded in 1799 and is headquartered in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
The company currently employ around 39,000 people across five divisions: Local Pubs; Destination Food Brands; Premium, Urban and Venture Brands; Pub Partners; and Brewing & Brands.
Reparations movement
There has been a growing reparations movement across the Caribbean region in recent years.
In March 2022, the Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley delivered a powerful speech in Ghana during its 65th independence celebrations calling for reparations.
A royal visit to Antigua and Barbuda by Prince Edward and Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, in 2022 was overshadowed by a letter on reparations.
In 2019, Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne demanded reparations from Harvard University for its historical ties to slavery in a letter to University President Lawrence S. Bacow.
Leading Jamaican politician Lisa Hanna has also urged Britain to pay reparations for its role in slavery.
In March last year, leading reparations campaigners in Grenada told its government to hold European countries “accountable” for their role in slavery.
