« Another Yards lawsuit filed | Main | Penguins to weigh Hill arena agenda »
April 7, 2007
Barclays linked to slavery — again
The Brooklyn Paper
By Dana Rubinstein
Further charges surface about Barclays Bank's participation in the slave trade. The bank holds the naming rights for the proposed Nets arena.
The release was tied to the 200th anniversary of Britain’s abolition of the slave trade. The Restitution Study Group, headed by Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, a former Brooklynite, alleges that Heywoods Bank — which is believed to have merged with Martins Bank in the 1800s, which, in turn merged with Barclays Bank in 1969 — took part in 125 slave-trading voyages, enslaving more than 38,000 Africans, more than 6,000 of whom died en route to the Americas. The group cites Emory University Professor David Eltis’s “Transatlantic Slave Trade Database” as the source of the information.
Politicians have objected previously to the naming deal with Barclays, and this latest information serves to back up their position.
Local black leaders, including Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (D–Fort Greene) and Rep. Yvette Clarke (D–Flatbush), have called on Ratner to reject the deal. Clarke, who has spoken in support of Ratner’s project, has threatened to seek Congressional hearings if Barclays does not increase its financial commitment to the Brooklyn community. So far, the bank has said it will donate $2.5 million toward rebuilding basketball courts in the borough.
Jeffries told The Brooklyn Paper that this newly surfaced research only bolsters his and other community leaders’ case.
“This further strengthens the position that Barclays Bank was involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade in a significant way,” he said. “We expect to meet with Barclays Bank [in late April or early May] to discuss the need for significant investment in the future and well-being of the Brooklyn communities.”
Posted by steve at April 7, 2007 7:50 AM