Reparation Movements in Africa, Asia and the United States: Ten Reasons Why Black Reparation is a Good Idea

Abstract

It is arguable that, historically, Africans and peoples of African descent, as victims of slavery and colonialism, have borne the heavy burden of collective humiliation more than any other group. The consequence of slavery and colonialism is, of course, more far-reaching than what is apparent in the realm of psychology. Africa‟s political economy, its international relations as well as its civil societies, or their absence, bear testimony that the continent continues to pay an incalculable price for the disruption caused by the intrusion of the West in Africa and African affairs. Trans-Atlantic slave trade and colonialism were inspired by white man‟s cultural arrogance and economic greed. And yet the quest of black peoples both on the continent of Africa and in the Diaspora for redress to these historical injustices and reparation for the harms caused by these sorry episodes of human history have yet to bear fruit. Focusing on the reparation movement in the United States, I re-examine and scrutinize the case which had been made as a counter-argument to the repeated call for reparation. I also attempt to bolster the argument for reparation in the light of recent evidence from a comparative perspective.