Reparations for slavery is the idea that some form of compensatory payment needs to be made to the descendants of Africans who had been enslaved as part of the Atlantic Slave Trade. The most notable demands for reparations have been made in the United Kingdom and in the United States, where slavery was the most pervasive. Caribbean and African states from which slaves were taken have also made reparation demands.
Reparations activism links today’s vast inequalities with the enormous culpability of colonialism. By Priya Lukka, Open Democracy — ‘Reparations.’ Once I heard that word from a friend, everything I had been taught as an economist was challenged at a fundamental level. As someone working at a large INGO where I have spent years targeting the drivers of poverty, I recognise that development isn’t…
In the wake of initiatives to repatriate Africa’s stolen property, the author of this letter asks the French President to repair what his ancestors have broken, before attempting to restore the war trophies of colonial conquest. By Manthia Diawara, Hyperallergic — “All of the elements for a solution to the major problems of humanity existed at one time or another in European thought. But the Europeans did not act on…
By Ernest DiStefano — Ernest DiStefano has written a stirring appeal for reparations for Negro League ballplayers and their descendants. This appeal in the form of a letter to Major…
Antonia Eliason continues to make waves in her bid for the First Congressional District seat in Mississippi. By Frank Corder — The self-described Democratic Socialist candidate has already voiced support for Medicaid expansion, the Green New Deal, marijuana legalization, and the “Squad.” Now Eliason is pushing for reparations. In a tweet on Tuesday, Eliason wrote, “Reparations for slavery are long overdue. One of the gravest betrayals in American history is the unfulfilled…
By Trinity Reilly — When Fr. Edward Sorin began building what would eventually be the University of Notre Dame, he began a long history of troubled relationships between the University…
Evanston, Illinois, is levying a tax on newly legalised marijuana to fund projects benefiting African Americans in recognition of the enduring effects of slavery and the war on drugs By Eric Lutz, The Guardian — For years, Robin Rue Simmons watched Evanston, Illinois, “working hard” to resolve its racial disparities – but with little to show for its efforts. “Our gaps were widening,” the city alderman told the Guardian, citing the Chicago suburb’s…
Reparations are popular with black Americans but opposed by most whites and divide Democrats. By Alexi McCammond, Axios — Deval Patrick supports developing a plan for the federal government to provide reparations to living descendants of slaves, a position he’ll make clear as part of an economic platform for black Americans he’s unveiling today, an aide tells Axios. Driving the news: The former Massachusetts governor, one of only two non-white candidates…
By Shant Shahrigian — Mike Bloomberg took to the site of historic race riots in Tulsa, Okla., on Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend to propose sweeping plans to redress the economic legacy of generations of discrimination against African Americans. In an initiative similar to calls for reparations for slavery, the Democratic presidential candidate proposed $70 billion in investment in the country’s “100 most…
On episode 22 of “The Activist Files,” Donita Judge, Center for Constitutional Rights’ associate executive director, talks about reparations for Blacks with Dr. Ron Daniels, president of the Institute of the Black…
IBW’s Black Family Summit, an umbrella grouping of some two dozen Black professional organizations, held a recent retreat in Baltimore, MD. On this page is a photo gallery of participants, along with notes on the subjects discussed at the two-day retreat.
By Rev. Amos Brown, SF Chronicle — For the city’s black community, it is long past time for San Francisco to prove it’s “the city that knows how” — to prove it knows how to make amends for its historic injustices to that community. As we mark the celebration of the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it is time for San Francisco to establish a reparations…
By Dana Sanchez, The Moguldom Nation — Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker have said they support some form of reparations, but Bernie Sanders has declined to do so, insisting instead that “there are better ways” to help Black communities “than just writing out a check.” Wanting it both ways, Sanders denies that he has rejected reparations. However, unlike former Vice President Joe Biden, Sanders is willing to talk about it. During…
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