2023-03-31-accounts - Movement For Justice And Reconciliation

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Trustees' Annual Report for the period

Period start date Period end date

From 1st April 2022 To 31st March 2023

Section A Reference and administration details

Charity name Other names charity is known by MJR Registered charity number (if any) 1161441 Charity's principal address 115 Preston Hill Kenton, Harrow Middlesex Postcode HA3 9SQ

Movement for Justice and Reconciliation

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates active if not for whole year	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (ifany)
	Revd Alton Bell	Chair
	Revd Karen Lund
	Keith Cottrell
	Clive Ireson
	Sarah-Jane Adejei
	Khareem Jamal
	Beatrice Smith

Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Constitution and Governance Type of governing document (eg. trust deed, constitution) CIO How the charity is constituted (eg. trust, association, company)

Appointed by resolution in properly constituted trustee meeting Trustee selection methods

(eg. appointed by, elected by)

TAR

March 2022

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant, about:

policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees;
the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;

During the year, the Trustees have reviewed and ratified current policy and strategy documents. These include:

  - Trustee responsibilities and Financial Procedures Policy

  - Data Protection Policy

  - Structure and Working Groups Policy

  - Safeguarding Policy

  - Reviewed our aims and objectives

The Trustees have also agreed a process for trustee re-election in accordance to the MJR Constitution.
relationship with any related parties;
trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.

Section C Objectives and activities

Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit)	1.To advance the education of the public in general on the subject of colonial slavery and industrial exploitation in the 18thand 19thcenturies and the effect it has had on today’s society, in particular but not exclusively by raising awareness and providing information about how this era of our nation’s history is impacting on British society today, and by promoting research in all aspects of this subject and publishing the results. 2. To develop the capacity and skills of members of socially and economically disadvantaged communities in such a way that they are better able to meet their needs, identify problems and to participate more fully in society. 3.Such other purposes as are exclusively charitable in accordance with the laws of England and Wales as the trustees may from time to time decide.
	The Movement for Justice and Reconciliation operates in accordance with the Constitution and Governance document submitted to the Charity Commission in April 2015. The trustees are satisfied that the charity is complying with the terms of this governance document and have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the commission in exercising their powers and duties. In particular, MJR are continuing to conduct research relating to legacy issues with the view of organising wider projects focussing on the findings. These projects will be undertaken in collaboration with academic institutions, various local community groups and faith-based organisations in Britain & Ireland.

Summary of the objects of the
charity set out in its
governing document
Summary of the main
activities undertaken for the
public benefit in relation to
these objects (include within
this section the statutory
declaration that trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit)

1.To advance the education of the public in general on the subject of colonial
slavery and industrial exploitation in the 18thand 19thcenturies and the effect it
has had on today’s society, in particular but not exclusively by raising
awareness and providing information about how this era of our nation’s history
is impacting on British society today, and by promoting research in all aspects of
this subject and publishing the results.
2. To develop the capacity and skills of members of socially and economically
disadvantaged communities in such a way that they are better able to meet
their needs, identify problems and to participate more fully in society.
3.Such other purposes as are exclusively charitable in accordance with the laws
of England and Wales as the trustees may from time to time decide.

The Movement for Justice and Reconciliation operates in accordance with the
Constitution and Governance document submitted to the Charity Commission
in April 2015.
The trustees are satisfied that the charity is complying with the terms of this
governance document and have complied with their duty to have due regard to
the guidance on public benefit published by the commission in exercising their
powers and duties.
In particular, MJR are continuing to conduct research relating to legacy issues
with the view of organising wider projects focussing on the findings. These
projects will be undertaken in collaboration with academic institutions, various
local community groups and faith-based organisations in Britain & Ireland.

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March 2022

Section D Achievements and performance

Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year

1. Research

MJR are pursuing the promoting of the film, ‘After The Flood’ throughout the UK and beyond. Copies for Individual hire or purchase are available on our website, www.mjr-uk.com. We are at the feasibility stage of a virtual reality project to depict life on slave ships during the ‘middle passage’.

2. The Film ‘After the Flood’

The project started in earnest in 2021 with the working title of ‘Christian Reconciliation: Repairing the damage of the transatlantic slave trade’ The finished documentary, ‘After the Flood: the church, slavery and reconciliation' was released in February 2022 and premiered at Bloomsbury Baptist Church, Central London on 25[th] May 2022. The anniversary of the death of George Floyd in the United States of America. Since then, we have had screenings at the Methodist Central Hall, Manchester, the Church of England’s General Synod in York and also at the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, Kent. The places where screening have occurred are listed on our website, www.mjr-uk.com. We continue to have screenings across the UK, followed by questions being fielded by a panel of experts, including many of the participants in the film.

The intention is for the film to be both educational and redemptive. It is achieving the following:

Raising awareness of Britain’s leading role in the transatlantic slave trade, and how the churches were complicit in the trade. The aim is to bring about racial reconciliation to foster convivial societies.
Providing encouragement to existing community cohesion projects and to act as a catalyst for new local community-led projects seeking to address legacy issues identified.
Creating greater national collective understanding and sharing of information and ideas to address legacy issues relating to our core values.
Produce concrete practical models of reconciliation.

3. MJR Manchester

In addition to the legacy of enslavement, MJR is also investigating the legacy of industrial exploitation. This was an issue highlighted in the ‘Proving Legacy’ research on educational achievement in 2019, which showed that poverty affects achievement levels among the white working classes more than any other group.

MJR works closely with the Nazarene Theological College, Manchester, who are advisors to MJR, and co-hosts a social justice course there. This is an ongoing piece of work.

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March 2022

Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves

These is no formal policy on reserves. Current fixed costs are minimal and Trustees’ are confident of the charity’s financial security. The policy on Minimal Reserves is to always keep the equivalent of at least six months expenditure available.

Details of any funds materially in deficit

n/a

Section G Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) APBell

Full name(s) Alton P Bell Position (eg Secretary, Chair, Chair etc)

Date 14/12/2023

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March 2022