Mia McMorris | Shared heritage, towards a unified reparation movement

What explains the unified stance on reparation unfolding on both sides of the Atlantic among peoples of African descent? The demand for reparation by the descendants of enslaved and colonised peoples is premised on the need to get redress for the horrors of European conquest from the 14th to 20th century. These horrors inform the sturdy conviction that today underlies the international collective demand for compensation.

In 2014, a development plan was formulated for the Caribbean, in a moment of unified resistance and resilience, through which the region demanded compensation for crimes against humanity perpetuated under European rule. It is from this plan that the reparation movement has gained a steady unshakeable foundation on the global stage. The CARICOM 10-point plan has become a blueprint for other reparation movements to define their demands, and advance advocacy in their communities.

While the colonial experiences of every country are distinctly different, there is commonality in the resulting legacies; people of African descent and other ‘minority’ groups have long faced open hostility, prejudice and racism by Europeans and their diaspora. This has manifested in injustice and inequality which directly disenfranchises descendants of the colonised. The demand for reparation therefore has threads of similarity to reinforce the global repercussions of colonial harm, and we see this clearly with the publication of the National African American Reparation Commission’s (NAARC) 10-point plan dated?.

The US African American community has become united under a series of movements including Black Lives Matter. For a number of years the US has amassed a strong foundation for studying the experiences and empowering the descendants of those enslaved on the continent through institutions such as Brown University, Georgetown University and Virginia Theological Seminary. Outside of academia, the movement has grown stronger under the supervision of state reparation committees with bold moves which have challenged state legislators. The success is seen through the reparatory justice outputs in Chicago, New York and California. They are solidifying key goals, in alignment with the global movement, including the publication of a plan which shows their commitment to equality and justice.

PREAMBLE

The NAARC contextualises the struggle perfectly in the preamble to the plan saying,

‘No amount of material resources or monetary compensation can ever be sufficient restitution for the spiritual, mental, cultural and physical damages inflicted on Africans by centuries of the MAAFA, the holocaust of enslavement and the institution of chattel slavery. These crimes against Black humanity, as affirmed by the Durban Declaration and Program of Action, were responsible for the death of millions of Africans who were ripped from their families and nations to labour for the enrichment of industries, commercial and financial institutions and individuals in Europe and the United States. In large measure the wealth of the new American nation was accumulated from the centuries of free labour, brutally extracted from enslaved Africans. With the “abolition” of slavery the “emancipated” sons and daughters of Africa suffered systematic, often violent repression, oppression, exploitation and deprivation under southern apartheid and de facto segregation in every region of this nation.’

Similar to the CARICOM Reparation Commission’s plan, NAARC demands include an apology. This clearly indicates that no actual reparative justice can be achieved without first acknowledging the crimes committed, committing to non-repetition and finally restitution. When considering the direction of the movement the need for this commitment by former colonisers must be at the forefront of any reparation campaign.

NAARC has effectively identified the concerns and needs of stakeholders and community actors through this plan, breaking down their points into short- and long-term goals for reparatory justice. The plan highlighted below is effective in identifying the generational trauma faced by African Americans but also in finding creative and positive ways to encourage change.

1. A formal apology and establishment of an African Holocaust (Maafa) Institute

2. The right of repatriation and creation of an African knowledge programme

3. The right to land for social and economic development

4. Funds for cooperative enterprises and socially responsible entrepreneurial development

5. Resources for the health, wellness and healing of black families and communities

6. Education for community development and empowerment

7. Affordable housing for healthy black communities and wealth generation

8. Strengthening black America’s information and communications infrastructure

9. Preserving black sacred sites and monuments

10. Repairing the damages of the “criminal injustice system”

QUITE SIMILAR

Although the plan diverges in some aspects from the plan established in the Caribbean with specific goals like, #4. Funds for cooperative enterprises and socially responsible entrepreneurial development and #10. Repairing the damages of the ‘criminal justice system’ on a whole the plans are quite similar in their ultimate goals of achieving equality and justice. The attention to development in both plans recognises the major disadvantages faced by non-white communities in a ‘post-colonial’ world. When we discuss legacies, it is not purely racism that concerns us, it is the systemic, legal disenfranchisement established through chattel enslavement of Africans that has only evolved and increased in the centuries since Emancipation. Rallying together under a unified global movement, we just might get what we need and deserve, justice.

Unity of course does not happen without action; the Caribbean has been collaborating with global allies and stakeholders. Our partnerships in Africa, the US and the UK are enduring and we know that success is not nearly as far away as it once was.

Mia McMorris is a junior research fellow at Centre for Reparation Research, The University of the West Indies. Send feedback to reparation.research@uwimona.edu.jm