Archbishops’ Commission on Racial Justice publishes fifth report

Mandated to drive ‘significant cultural and structural change on issues of racial justice within the Church of England’, the Archbishops’ Commission for Racial Justice (ACRJ), headed by The Rt Hon. Lord Paul Boateng, is charged with monitoring, holding to account and supporting the implementation of the 47 recommendations of the Archbishops’ Anti-Racism Taskforce which were laid out in the Taskforce’s comprehensive 2021 report, From Lament to Action.

In his foreword letter to the fifth report, Lord Boateng comments on the welcome affirmation by General Synod of the Commission’s work. He voices concern, as the Commission enters its final months, about the degree to which they have encountered active resistance or obstruction to the work necessary to ensure that the Church or England lives out the Gospel in both its teaching and practice.

Lord Boateng highlights the need for a body within the Archbishops Council that has an on-going auditing role of how racial justice is embedded in the developing governance arrangements of the Church of England, and that there should be a strong independent element in its membership.

He acknowledges the opportunity the Commissioners have had to meet with a wide range of people performing a wide variety of roles, all of whom strive hard to carry out their roles in sometimes difficult and challenging circumstances.

Lord Boateng also warns against importing “often deeply divisive and counterproductive” language from across the Atlantic “however well-meaning” the intention.

The fifth report follows the same structure as previous reports, providing valuable updates on the work of areas of focus, but introduces a new section “Good Practice - and bad practice – across the Church of England”.

In this new feature, the Commission celebrates good practice in the hope others will be inspired to follow. Examples come from Dudley, London, Worcester, Oxford, Coventry, Chelmsford, and from work in Cathedrals and the Theological Education Institutions. There is one example of ‘bad practice’. (Page 54 onwards)

The July 2025 Anglican Conference of ‘Truth Telling’ about the legacies of slavery and colonialism is a conference that will mark the culmination of, amongst other work, Commission-sponsored seminars.

These seminars bring together leading researchers in the field to elucidate the role of the Anglican Church in enabling the slave trade and plantation economy, and aim to resist false narratives about the international chattel slavery trade (Theology & Slavery, Page 21 onwards).

The report highlights progress on investigating racial Incidents within the Church of England, facilitated by Race Equality First, and encourages persons in UKME/GHM communities who have experienced racial incidents (or those in the wider Church community who have knowledge of such) to make contact (Participation, page 40).

The report acknowledges the progress on the changes to the governance structure that has enabled the Church of England to make progress in the last four years on racial justice, and reviews how this has been achieved. It considers how, once its work has concluded in November, future governance of racial justice work needs to be further embedded and structured and makes several recommendations about the Racial Justice Unit (Governance, page 48).

The final report of the Archbishops’ Commission on Racial Justice will be published in November 2024.

Commenting, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby said: "Lord Boateng is right in saying that this report contains the good, the bad and the ugly. While there is much to celebrate in our pursuit of racial justice in the church over the past few years, we must also focus on those aspects where we could be doing better.

"We must strive to be a church that reflects the rich diversity of our country and affirms that we are all one in Christ Jesus. I pray for those who are working to achieve this, in often difficult and challenging circumstances."

The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell said: "This penultimate report of the Commission provides hope, but rightly continues to challenge us about obstacles in the path to securing racial justice within the life of the church.

"We need to attend to this with commitment and purpose. The events of the summer, when we have seen hatred and violence, much of which is racially motivated, remind us of the urgency of this task. The church needs to be able to credibly bear witness to the world of the justice and peace that are signs of God’s Kingdom."