The Church of England took an important step forward in acknowledging the brutality of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

At its General Synod on 8 February, the Church admitted to its role in the slave trade and to benefiting from slavery.

From 1710 to 1834, the Church used slaves on its Barbados sugar estate, the Codrington Plantation. And when slavery was abolished in 1833, it received financial compensation for the loss of its slaves. At the Synod, the Church's national assembly, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams apologised for the Church's complicity and urged it to share the "shame and sinfulness of our predecessors".

This is a welcome step forward. As we approach the bicentenary of Britain's abolition of the slave trade in 2007, this is a particularly suitable moment for all institutions that profited from the slave trade to apologise for their involvement in this brutal chapter of history. Each has a moral duty to acknowledge the implications of their involvement and apologise publicly for it.

The legacy of the slave trade continues to have consequences in present times and remains at the root of some acts of racism, xenophobia and intolerance. It is necessary, so that society can be reconciled with its own history, that the truth concerning slavery and the slave trade be publicly acknowledged, taught and better understood.

As part of our Fight for Freedom campaign, we are calling on the United Kingdom Government to take constructive steps to address the legacies of the slave trade, including making it a requirement to teach the Transatlantic Slave Trade under the National Curriculum and establish a national slavery memorial day. Such a day would allow the UK as a whole to remember both the victims of this terrible trade and its lasting legacy, which includes racism and xenophobia.

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