Sir John Cass's name dropped from London's City University Business School over slavery links

London’s City University has removed the name of Sir John Cass from its business school after complaints that the 18th-century English merchant obtained part of his wealth through the slave trade.

The unanimous decision was taken by the university’s council, who said the use of Sir John’s name was “incompatible with City’s values of diversity and inclusion”.

Sir John was a Tory MP and philanthropist, but was a major figure in the early development of the slave trade and the Atlantic slave economy, directly dealing with slave agents in the African forts and in the Caribbean, according to the BBC.

City renamed their world-leading business school 18 years ago when the Sir John Cass Foundation, a charity founded in 1748 to support access to education, donated £5m.

While due diligence was carried on on the foundation, the university had apparently not appreciated Sir John’s links to slavery.

As the Black Lives Matter movement continues to force institutions across the globe to reexamine their historical and current attitudes towards race, Julia Palca, Chair of City’s Council, said: “We acknowledge the great pain and hurt caused to members of our City and Business School community and to many black people by the association of the School’s name with the slave trade.

“Any continued use of Sir John Cass’ name would be seen as condoning someone whose wealth in part derived from the exploitation of slavery.

“This is incompatible with our values of diversity and inclusivity. We have therefore taken the decision to remove the name”.

Professor Sir Paul Curran, President, City, University of London, added: “The announcement of our decision to change the name of City’s Business School by no means marks the end of the issue.

“The work we are doing to address racial inequality and to ensure City is an inclusive place to work and study will continue.

“We have listened to the concerns of the City community about the naming of the Business School and we have also heard about their individual experiences of racism and inequality in today’s world”.

The University is not the first institution to sever its ties with Sir John.

The Sir John Cass redcoat School in Stepney Green announced last month that it would be changing its name and immediately removing a statue of the former slave trader.

The governing body said in a statement: “We recognise that the use of Sir John Cass’s name endorses this major figure in the early development of the slave trade.

“The use of his name is incompatible with our pledge to support the black community and our active commitment to oppose racism in all of its forms”.

St Botolph’s church in Aldgate also removed a bust of his last month, saying: “We apologise for the years spent celebrating the legacy of a man without understanding the origin of his wealth, gained through slavery and human exploitation.”

On 10th June, City University initiated a review of all historic sources of funding to determine if there are any other links with slavery; and to make recommendations, which are expected next month.