The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) has appointed Keon West as its head of reparations to lead a programme that will address the legacy of its endowment.
Last week, JRCT announced that, starting this month, West would design and lead a reparations programme that strengthens the charity’s commitment to tackling the root causes of injustice.
In February 2020, JRCT started a research project exploring the Rowntree company’s historic global supply chains.
The review shows that the Rowntree company benefited from colonial indenture, serving as an active agent in colonial economies in Africa and the Caribbean across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
“While the Rowntree company is remembered for its progressive practices in the UK, in 2021, JRCT joined with the other Rowntree trusts to respond to research showing that the company had bought cocoa and other goods produced by enslaved people and had benefited from other forms of colonial exploitation,” the charity said.
“There is evidence that Rowntree Mackintosh’s South African subsidiary, Wilson Rowntree, engaged in oppressive and exploitative practices during the apartheid era.
“JRCT committed to identifying meaningful forms of reparation that further its charitable purposes for the public benefit.”
‘We’re ready to move forward’
Since 2021, JRCT has worked with experts in reparations and racial justice and historians and archivists, “and taken time to understand these histories and how they relate to our continuing work”, it said.
The charity is now ready “to move forward” with West’s appointment. West will work with affected communities, historians, legal experts and other partners to develop and lead a reparations programme.
West is currently head of research at Runnymede Trust and a visiting professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
He was previously professor of social psychology, president of the ninth division of the American Psychological Association and an old Rhodes Scholar with a doctorate from Balliol, Oxford University.
An expert in racism and bias reduction, West has written over 80 relevant peer-reviewed papers and has experience in the commercial and third sectors, having been head of research at Equality Group.
JRCT said the reparations programme West will lead will be developed in collaboration with its board and chief executive, while furthering its charitable purposes for the public benefit.
At this time, the specific scope, structure or funding allocation of the programme has not been finalised.
The charity said it intends to continue grantmaking in the long term and invest its funds ethically and responsibly, “and to make grants to those who address the root causes of problems in our society as outlined by Joseph Rowntree when he established our organisation”.
“We want to remain true to our responsibilities to the past, present, and future by honouring our commitment to addressing historic injustice while ensuring long-term support for changemakers,” it added.
‘This is the right next step’
Nicola Purdy, JRCT’s CEO, said: “We’re delighted to welcome West as our head of reparations and to our senior leadership team.
“His insight and experience position him strongly to develop and lead this important programme.
“For over 120 years, JRCT has been guided by our founder’s belief that creating a better world requires addressing root causes rather than just symptoms.
“We’re committed to carrying this influence forward and we continue to support organisations that address the root causes of conflict and injustice.
“That’s why it’s important to us that our reparations programme – which will further our charitable purposes for the public benefit – addresses injustices and their lasting impact.
“As a Quaker organisation committed to values of peace, truth and equality, we believe this is the right next step and a core part of our charitable mission.”
On his appointment, West said: “I’m honoured to accept this role.
“It offers the power and the responsibility to make real, meaningful changes in the lives of those who have been exploited.
“It’s an opportunity and a duty that I take very seriously.”
