Sheffield Friends discern on cocoa
Sheffield Quakers are seeking Friends to join their discernment
Sheffield Quakers are seeking Friends to join their discernment in how to witness against exploitation within the cocoa trade.
Linda Duckenfield, from Sheffield Central Meeting, told the Friend: ‘We in Sheffield have been discussing this in our Racial Justice Group, and how to counter the existing child slavery and exploitation which contributes to this, especially in Sierra Leone and Ghana, which produce more than sixty per cent of global cocoa.’
‘Expressions of further national interest amongst Friends would be wonderful, in discerning action and a Quaker stance on this matter,’ she added. ‘With the chocolate fest of Christmas approaching, it is a good time for interested Friends to become involved.’
According to Linda, the group’s enquiries have only just begun. Focusing on cocoa production aligns with Britain Yearly Meeting’s wider discernment on reparations and economic exploitation, she said. ‘Sheffield has less seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century history [than Bristol] to unearth… as it is a relatively new city. With the growth of imports for the middle class, such as coffee, tea, sugar and cocoa, these beverages became hugely fashionable in the eighteenth century. As Quakers were barred from most professions, and turned to manufacture, Yorkshire, and particularly York, became one of the earliest centres of chocolate manufacture, from drinking chocolate to solids. This was first for luxury products, but the goods became increasingly cheap, as slavery and colonialism drove costs down.’
Quaker families involved in chocolate manufacture included Rowntrees and Terrys in York. ‘The other notable Quaker chocolate family is, of course, the Frys, in Bristol, and we shall be reaching out to Bristol Friends, who are already very active in researching past links with slavery to join in this research.
‘We are all moved to consider reparations for involvement in the slave trade, and how best to contribute, make plain our actions and conduct ourselves now,’ said Linda. Interested Friends can email her at duckenfieldlinda@yahoo.com.
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