23/04/2026
New Illustration work for , illustrating multiple themes of: community and togetherness, ancestral interconnectedness, Diasporic connections accross oceans, future generations, restoration & repair, and listening and sharing knowledge. Swipe for some Roughs and some pages of the Programme Layout.
The Scott Trust Legacies of Enslavement Programme is a 10 year restorative justice initiative launched in March 2023 in response to the Guardian founders’ connections to transatlantic enslavement. It is being designed and carried out in consultation with descendant communities in the US, Jamaica, the UK and elsewhere, centred on long-term initiatives and meaningful impact.
The initial act of the programme was an apology, in recognition of the role Guardian founder, John Edward Taylor, and his backers played in transatlantic enslavement, through their business interests in cotton and sugar. Among them was Sir George Philips, co-owner of the Success plantation in Hanover, Jamaica. Links were also identified between Taylor’s family business and plantations in the Gullah Geechee region of the US Sea Islands, say the Scott Trust.
It has announced the next stage of its 10-year Legacies of Enslavement programme, detailing new actions to address and atone for these historical links and pursue restorative justice and meaningful repair.
the Scott Trust says it will invest in supporting the priorities identified by descendant communities in Jamaica and the US Sea Islands. In both regions the programme has developed a comprehensive set of priorities that contribute to realising repair, including:
🔘Improving access to quality education and skills training
🔘Supporting community land and property rights
🔘Helping to preserve cultural heritage preservation and honouring the memories of those who were enslaved
🔘Funding economic and climate justice initiatives
Convening community conversations centred on repair and healing.
🔘Some work is already ongoing, for example, in Jamaica, The Scott Trust says the programme is assisting the community in Hanover parish with reconstruction efforts post Hurricane Melissa.
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