The full title of this article by Zita Zage (Global Voices) is “A movement is growing across Africa and diaspora demanding reparations for the impacts of slavery and colonialism.” Zage writes, “Reparations must be paid for the slave trade.”
The wounds of slavery, colonialism, and their enduring legacies remain unhealed in Africa. Now a growing movement is building across the continent and diaspora demanding reparations and justice for these historical crimes.
In September 2023, Ghana’s President Akuf0-Addo addressed the United Nations General Debate, 78th Session, declaring, “It is time to openly acknowledge that much of Europe and the United States has been built from the vast wealth harvested from the sweat, tears, blood, and horrors of the transatlantic slave trade, and the centuries of colonial exploitation. Maybe, we should also admit that it cannot be easy to build confident and prosperous societies from nations that, for centuries, have had their natural resources looted and their people traded as commodities. For centuries, the world has been unwilling and unable to confront the realities of the consequences of the slave trade.”
But, he said gradually this is changing, and the time had come to bring the topic of reparations to the forefront: “Granted, the current generations are not the ones that engaged in the slave trade, but the grant in human enterprise will stay sponsored and deliberate in its benefits, which are clearly interwoven with the present-day economic architecture of the nations that designed and executed it. Reparations must be paid for the slave trade.”
A month later, the Advancing Justice: Reparations & Racial Healing Summit, funded by the MacArthur Foundation’s Equitable Recovery Initiative, was convened in Accra. According to a report by Africa Feeds, President Akufo-Addo reiterated his call for reparations, citing examples of reparations granted to Native Americans, Japanese-American families, and Jewish people who suffered during World War II. He said, “Native Americans have received and continue to receive reparations; Japanese-American families, who were incarcerated in internment camps in America during World War II, received reparations. Jewish people, six million of whom perished in the concentration camps of Hitlerite Germany, received reparations, including homeland grants and support.”
A New York Times article highlighted the outcomes of some of these reparations and drew lessons that could be learned from them.
The Pan-African Conference on Reparations was held jointly in Accra, Ghana, on November 14, by the African Union (AU) and Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nations. The conference members advocated for reparations for injustices committed against Africans during the transatlantic slave trade, apartheid, segregation, colonialism, neo-colonialism, and neo-liberalism. Representatives from African nations, civil society groups, and the African diaspora gathered to discuss constructive solutions, leading to the establishment of a global fund to support the campaign and the drafting of a proclamation, as reported by the Guardian.
Countries in the Caribbean region, profoundly impacted by the transatlantic slave trade, have long been advocating for reparations.
The CARICOM (Caribbean Community and Common Market) Reparations Commission, under the leadership of Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, has been at the forefront of this movement, seeking redress beyond mere financial compensation. Their campaign emphasizes the importance of actions such as providing support for education and healthcare initiatives in the Caribbean. Professor Beckles, a longstanding proponent of reparations, proposes the establishment of a facility by Britain akin to the Jewish Reparation Fund. His perspective underscores that reparatory justice is not about handouts, but, more significantly, about fostering a collaborative development partnership between Britain and the Caribbean.
In response to the advocacy by the CARICOM Reparations Commission, a historic agreement for slavery reparations was signed between the University of Glasgow and the University of the West Indies. However, the commission maintains that more action is needed. The Caribbean’s case for reparations was discussed at length during a live-streamed interview with Sir Hilary at the Bocas Lit Fest in Port of Spain, Trinidad in October 2020. The commission’s campaign has highlighted the lasting effects of the the translantic slave trade and the effects this inhumane system continues to have beyond the psychological harm of its descendants, to include economic, cultural, demographic, political and ecological repercussions. This argument resonates with many Caribbean citizens, evident when King Charles’ coronation sparked minimal interest (other than what his position would be on reparations) and the visit to the region of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and his wife, Catherine, proved controversial. [. . .]
In addition to the push for reparations, there is also a call for the return of artefacts taken from African countries during colonial rule. President Akufo-Addo said this is a major concern:
We must call for the return of African cultural properties that were illegally and shamelessly transported from the continent. This reconnection of the present and the past will also help to build new relations with the international community especially that of Europe, which was principally responsible for the original theft of the cultural properties. [. . .]
For full article, see https://globalvoices.org/2023/12/02/a-movement-is-growing-across-africa-and-diaspora-demanding-reparations-for-the-impacts-of-slavery-and-colonialism/
[Image above by Joseph Swain from Wikimedia Commons: Slavers bringing captives on board a slave ship on Africa’s west coast.]
The full title of this article by Zita Zage (Global Voices) is “A movement is growing across Africa and diaspora demanding reparations for the impacts of slavery and colonialism.” Zage writes, “Reparations must be paid for the slave trade.” The wounds of slavery, colonialism, and their enduring legacies remain unhealed in Africa. Now a growing
