Reparations for Slavery: From Theory to Praxis

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Reparations for Slavery: From Theory to Praxis will connect scholars and activists and address the negative impact of the history of slavery on Afro-descendent communities living today. It is linked to the core objectives of the 'UN International Decade for People of African Descent', notably its desire 'to combat racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia' (here through reparations). Reparation (or repairing for harm done) is an ancient concept that has recently resurfaced in public debates. In 2014, the Caribbean Community issued a call upon Europe's former colonial powers to commit to their ten-point justice programme, which is seeking reparations for indigenous and African communities descended from slavery. Historically, these claims are linked to the failure of the former slave-trading nations and plantation owners to provide restitution to those they had enslaved. Instead, abolition resulted in the former slave-owning classes being richly compensated for the loss of their 'workforce', while slavery was replaced with new systems of colonial exploitation that continued to benefit plantation owners to the detriment of colonized peoples. The long-reaching and devastating consequences of this history can still be discerned in the acute socio-economic imbalances that exist in former slave-based societies, and in the multiple forms of racial discrimination and human rights violations that descendants of enslaved Africans continue to experience. Legal steps taken at national and international levels to recognise slavery and the slave trades as 'crimes against humanity' have lent judicial support to the efforts of local, national and transnational groups seeking redress. Despite this, reparations remain politically taboo, with governments having typically ignored or rejected demands, and refused to issue formal apologies beyond more nuanced statements of regret. This refusal at political, societal and (until recently) academic levels to understand the meaning and potential of reparations provides the underlying rationale for this network. In collaboration with our institutional partners in the UK, France and Benin, we will set up a series of workshops that will connect academics and grassroots activists based in Europe, the Caribbean, the US and West Africa. Building from existing scholarship in politics and law, we will explore multiple approaches to reparations from artistic, cultural, historical, philosophical, psychological, social and spiritual perspectives. These workshops will pave the way for an international conference in Benin (a primary site for the transatlantic slave trade) that will bring Africa-based activists and international scholars together to identify a clear agenda for engaging more actively and effectively with the legacies of slavery. Our aims include the need to: advance research on reparations by connecting scholars and activists on an international scale; address the lack of arts and humanities research and connect it to existing work in the social sciences; valorise the long history of reparation movements across the world; support the work of activists by providing global legitimacy and visibility to the reparation debate; and impact positively upon public and political (mis)conceptions about reparations. The network will result in the publication of a co-edited academic volume, as well as the creation of an online archive of reparation movements and a series of public reports for use by activists, NGOs, academics, government-linked groups and other national/international bodies. These outputs will not only provide a valuable contribution to academic knowledge, but will also support activists in their social and educational work and political campaigning. By connecting research and activism, this network will therefore find practical strategies for moving beyond theoretical discussions of reparations and towards real action of direct benefit to the descendants of enslaved Africans.