He believed the way to remedy the injustices of the world was not to relieve their ill-effects, but to strike at their roots. As a Trust we continue to support people who address the root causes of conflict and injustice.
Operating as a charitable trust in line with charity law and regulations, and guided by our Quaker values of simplicity, truth, equality, and peace, we continue Joseph Rowntree’s vision of tackling the root causes of problems, not just their symptoms.
Joseph Rowntree was born in 1836 into a Quaker family in York. A grocer’s son, he left the family business to run a cocoa factory with his brother, Henry Isaac Rowntree. When Henry Isaac Rowntree died, Rowntree carried on as sole proprietor, until he was later joined by his sons and nephews. From its early days with a small team of workers, the factory rapidly expanded and by 1902 it employed over 2,000 workers.
As a Quaker, Rowntree’s religious beliefs were known to inform his commitment to social reform and aspects of his business practice. He had a reputation for ensuring that his factory workers were paid fair wages. Rowntree was particularly known for his work to improve the quality of life for people living in York through the provision of affordable, decent housing and recreational facilities. You can find out more about the lifetimes and legacy of the Rowntree family on the Rowntree Society website.
While much of the attention given to the Rowntree legacy has been on these contributions to progressive business practices in the UK, the story of how the Rowntree Company benefitted from colonial era trade has until recently been largely overlooked. Preliminary research from the Rowntree Society has identified evidence which suggests that the Rowntree Company benefited from supply chains built on forced and unfair labour during the colonial era, including the purchase of raw materials produced by enslaved people. There is also evidence of oppressive and exploitative practices at the Rowntree company’s South African subsidiary, Wilson Rowntree, during the apartheid era.
As a Quaker organisation set up to address injustice, we know we have a responsibility to acknowledge these histories and their ongoing impact. In 2021, we joined the other Rowntree trusts in responding to this review. We published a statement from our trustees which sets out our response to the origins of our endowment including the intention to identify forms of reparation which further our charitable purposes for the public benefit.
Since 2021, we have worked with experts in reparations and racial justice, and with historians and archivists, and taken time to understand these histories and how they relate to our continuing work to advance peace and justice. These discussions have been in-depth, supported by experts, and needed time, consideration and care.
We are now ready to move forward and we are seeking a head of reparations to join our senior leadership team to develop and lead a reparations programme.