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Reparations for slavery

Reparation Demands in the United States

In 1989, Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) proposed the bill H.R. 40 - Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act to the United States Congress and was re-introducing it every Congress. In January 2017, the bill was updated as, H.R.40 - Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act.

Randall Robinson wrote in 1999, as the Executive Director of the TransAfrica advocacy organization, that the history of race riots, lynching and institutional discrimination have "resulted in $1.4 Trillion in losses for African Americans"

Economist Robert Browne wrote the ultimate goal from reparations should be to "restore the black community to the economic position it would have if it had not been subjected to slavery and discrimination." He estimates a fair reparation value anywhere between $1.4 - $4.7 Trillion, or roughly $142,000 for every black American living today.

Opposition to Reparations

Political commentator Dinesh D'Souza argues that African Americans are "vastly better off than they would have been had their ancestors not endured captivity and European rule." He bases this assertion off of the better economic conditions for African Americans than Africans, on average.

Most Conservative Blacks are also opposed to reparations. Columnist Stanley Crouch equates reparations with a form of "victim studies" and is a form of "racial complaint that has existed since the early '60's"

Reparation Demands in the Caribbean

In 2007, Guyana called for European nations to pay reparations for the slave trade.

In 2011, Antigua & Barbuda called for reparations at the United Nations, saying "that segregation and violence against people of African descent had impaired their capacity for advancement as nations, communities and individuals".

In 2012, Jamaica revived its reparations commission, to consider the question of whether the country should seek an apology or reparations from Britain for its role in the slave trade. The opposition cited Britain's role in the end of the slave trade as a reason that Britain should issue no reparations.

Also in 2012, the Barbados government established a twelve-member Reparations Task Force, to be responsible for sustaining the local, regional and international momentum for reparations. Barbados is reportedly "currently leading the way in calling for reparations from former colonial powers for the injustices suffered by slaves and their families."

In 2013, in the first of a series of lectures in Georgetown, Guyana, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the 1763 Berbice Slave Revolt, Principal of the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies, Sir Hilary Beckles urged Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries to emulate the position adopted by the Jews who were persecuted during the Second World War and have since organized a Jewish reparations fund.

Reparation Demands in Africa

In 1999, the African World Reparations and Reparation Truth Commission called for the West to pay $777 trillion to Africa within five years.

Further Reading

• Richard F. American. Wealth of Races: The Present Value of Benefits from Past Injustices. Praeger Press, 2002. IBSN 0313257531