Bathgate Procession organisers forced to defend themselves in new "slave trade" row

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Organisers of this weekend's Bathgate Procession have defended themselves amid renewed accusations of persisting with slave trade links.Formerly known as the John Newland Festival, organisers have renamed the upcoming event as the Bathgate Procession to distance themselves from slave owner Newland.But after an eagle-eyed local spotted the event's branding still bears an image of the former school, built with money left in Newland's will, officials have responded.Edinburgh Live reported that Harry Cartmill, vice chair of the procession, said the committee removed the festival’s namesake from the celebration but retained the image of the school because the legacy of education went beyond his connection to the slave industry. “The school is an integral part of the town.

Hundreds of pupils have passed through there and been educated there. It has become separate from and more important than John Newland’s legacy,” said Cartmill.“The organisers have done what we’ve been asked to do.

We’ve removed all celebration of Newland from the event while retaining the day itself, which is effectively a children’s gallery and a way to celebrate everything good about the Bathgate community.”However, one local man raised concerns about the conflicting message of removing Newland while retaining his school.“Newland, and the Academy building are intrinsically linked with each other and the event,” the elderly resident said.“You cannot remove the name and commemoration of John Newland from the event and keep using the image of the original academy built in 1833 as the logo.

It is contradictory to use the buildings image whilst deleting the history of its funding and founder. The picture surely indicates we are still celebrating the building