At Yearly Meeting 2022, Quakers committed to making practical reparations for the transatlantic slave trade, colonialism and economic exploitation. This page offers some resources to help meetings think about this work.

Yearly Meeting's decision asked all individuals and bodies within the Yearly Meeting to learn about the background to the reparations movement and to consider how reparations might be made for Quaker involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism. This page provides background and resources to help you to do this, individually and with your Quaker community, and will showcase work happening across the Yearly Meeting on this.

Get involved

    Background to our decision

    To better understand the decision please see:

    If this is new, then you may find preparation materials and session information from Yearly Meeting 2022 and 2021 helpful.

    Learning

    If you are beginning to consider the Yearly Meeting's commitment to make reparations, wish to deepen or refresh your understanding of reparations or the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade, or are planning to consider reparations within your Quaker community, we have gathered resources which will help you to build understanding. See our resource library.

    Taking action

    This section will showcase some of the actions that Quakers have taken in response to the Yearly Meeting commitment to make reparations. In due course, this will include discernment and decision-making by the BYM reparations Working Group.

    Building connections

    We know that Quakers are not alone in considering historical injustice and reparations, and we do not need to begin this work afresh. Building connections with others working on reparations, and with communities affected by the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade is a key part of making meaningful reparations.

    Making commitments

    Local and area meetings have begun to consider how they might engage with reparations. We will share the responses which are beginning to emerge.

    Header image Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons