The Guardian has announced two new appointments which build on the Scott Trust Legacies of Enslavement programme
Chris Osuh has been appointed as a new community affairs correspondent based in Manchester, covering Greater Manchester’s Black communities, alongside wider reporting on Britain’s Black, Asian and ethnic-minority populations and the issues that affect them.
In addition, writer, performance artist and producer Keisha Thompson has been appointed as the Manchester-based programme manager for the Legacies of Enslavement project.
Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief, Guardian News & Media, says: “I’m delighted to welcome Chris to this important new role reporting on African- and Caribbean-descended communities in the north of England, as well as Britain’s other ethnic-minority populations and the issues that affect them.
“The Guardian puts readers and their communities at the heart of so much of its journalism and was founded in Manchester, so it is particularly fitting we have someone based in the city to cover the urgent stories and issues that affect us today.”
The Guardian recently announced new correspondents in the Caribbean, South America, Africa and the UK and new hires to the race and equity team at Guardian US. The roles are part of the Scott Trust Legacies of Enslavement programme and will strengthen its overall aims by reporting on previously underreported regions and communities.
As part of the Scott Trust’s long-term commitment to raising awareness of the UK’s role in transatlantic enslavement, Keisha Thompson will lead on community engagement and partnerships in Greater Manchester, helping to advance knowledge and understanding of the city’s connections to transatlantic slavery.
Ebony Riddell Bamber, programme director of the Scott Trust Legacies of Enslavement programme, says: “I am really excited to welcome Keisha Thompson as our new programme manager based in Manchester. She brings a wealth of skills, experience and knowledge of the city, its residents and institutions that will enable us to accelerate our community engagement and partnership-building.
“The city, where the newspaper was founded in 1821, is an important focus for the project as we aim to highlight the history and continual impact of transatlantic slavery in Manchester, the north west, and the UK as a whole.”
