School pupils in Aberdeenshire and Moray should be asked to help decide the future of a £1.8 million fund established using the profits of slavery, according to a north-east MSP.
The proposal is an attempt to find a way to end deadlock over the future of the controversial Dick Bequest, which traces its roots to the activities of a Forres-born man and the Caribbean slave trade.
SNP MSP Gillian Martin said the two councils had a “moral responsibility” to cut their ties to the bequest.
And she suggests asking pupils for their views.
She said: “I am fairly certain that if the young people in our Aberdeenshire schools were asked if they wanted to use money that had come from slavery the answer would be a resounding ‘no’. Perhaps it’s time to ask them?”
Another Aberdeenshire politician, Conservative MP Andrew Bowie, said it was “jarring” to deny “vital money” to teachers and schools by calling for the repatriation of the fund.
He said: “Atone for the sins of the past by supporting our young people now.”
What is the Dick Bequest?
The bequest was established following the death of Forres-born merchant James Dick almost two centuries ago.
The pot of money has been used to provide grants to teachers and schools in Aberdeenshire and Moray ever since.
Last year, two historians revealed that the money was directly linked to the fortune Mr Dick made as a slave trader in the Caribbean.
The historians, David Alston and Donald Morrison, called for the cash to be redirected to benefit the education system in Jamaica.
The plea has been supported by Ms Martin, the Aberdeenshire East SNP MSP, and others.
But Mr Bowie said it should be left up to the two councils – who are among the organisations that appoint governors to the Dick Bequest – to decide their involvement.
He said: “We may be waiting some time for Gillian Martin to take a pickaxe and wheelbarrow to SNP-run Glasgow, at one time the second city of the British Empire.
‘The SNP’s latest wheeze… is jarring’
“Cauterising this fund doesn’t undo the life-changing benefit it has for those who are less fortunate, and the SNP’s latest wheeze to deny vital money to councils is jarring, considering they announced another £615 million in education cuts this month.
“I would humbly suggest nothing of a replacement is coming from Holyrood to support those who need this money.”
Mr Bowie added: “Hopefully one day we can acknowledge the burden of the past in our institutions, the bricks and mortar all around us, but choose to take ownership of that legacy for a brighter future.”
In response, Ms Martin accused Mr Bowie of “obfuscation”.
She said he had not addressed the issue of whether the Conservative councillors involved in running Aberdeenshire Council can “in good conscience use money gained from the mistreatment of Jamaican people to benefit Aberdeenshire students”.
Ms Martin said she would bet the pupils have a “better grasp of the lasting impact of slavery on the young people of Jamaica today”.
Conversation