Caribbean Matters: Leaders demand reparations and justice, not excuses

Caribbean Matters is a weekly series from Daily Kos. Hope you’ll join us here every Saturday. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean.

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The prospect of reparations for slavery has proven to be one of the longest and most contentious social justice battles for Black Americans. The fight dates back to the promise of “40 acres and a mule” after emancipation in 1865, and became an issue in Congress in 1989, when Rep. John Conyers introduced the “Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act.” 

The bill has been resubmitted periodically since then, and the situation will likely continue unresolved in a country that’s now attempting to erase any and all aspects of Blackness—including our history. And the mere mention of this “R” word draws a toxic response from people on both sides of the political spectrum. As a minority of only 13% of the U.S population, Black Americans will never make progress on even discussing the issue unless it wins the support of the not-Black majority. Sadly, there is data confirming that most Americans oppose reparations.

But the Caribbean is a completely different story, given the fact that most of its countries are majority Black, with Black leaders as well. The issue of reparations is being discussed by the Caribbean Community—known as CARICOM—not only with former colonial powers, but also at the United Nations and with African Union countries.

CARICOM was established by the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean that were former British colonies:

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is an organization founded by Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad & Tobago to promote economic integration and cooperation. The organization now currently consists of 15 Caribbean nations and dependencies. These member states are Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat (a British overseas territory in the Leeward Islands), Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. In addition to the community’s full members, there are 5 associate members and 7 observers. The 5 associate members are Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos. The role of the associate members, which are all British overseas territories, is not established yet. The observers are states which engage in at least one of CARICOM’s technical committees.

This short video narrated by Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies Sir Hilary Beckles presents the case for reparations:

From the United Nations Caribbean video notes:

Sir Hilary Beckles is one of the world’s foremost experts on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and serves as Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies and Chairman of the CARICOM Reparations Commission. In this video by UN Web TV, he discusses the importance of reparations for the Transatlantic Slave Trade.On 25 March 2024 for the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, Beckles joined UN Secretary-General António Guterres to pay tribute to the millions of men, women and children who suffered as a result of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

The issue of reparations is in the news again and on the global stage at the United Nations:

The Associated Press examined the issue in an article titled “Descendants of slave owners and enslaved people in the Caribbean call for reparations at the UN”:

The great-great-grandson of 19th-century British Prime Minister William Gladstone said he was horrified to learn seven years ago that his ancestors were slave owners in Jamaica and Guyana.

And former BBC journalist Laura Trevelyan said she learned after records of Britain’s Slave Compensation Commission were put online in 2013 that one of her ancestors, Sir John Trevelyan, owned sugar cane plantations in Grenada and about 1,000 enslaved people.

They spoke at a meeting at U.N. headquarters in New York this past week where, for the first time, descendants of slave owners and enslaved people in former British colonies in the Caribbean sat at the same table with diplomats and experts from those nations discussing the contentious issue of reparations .

“This was a historic event,” said Trevelyan, who moderated the meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. Permanent Forum on People of African Descent’s weeklong session.

[…]

Few nations have apologized for their role in slavery, and reparations have been the subject of much debate.

The Geneva-based Human Rights Council has called for global action for years, including reparations, apologies and educational reforms to make amends for racism against people of African descent. The 15-nation Caribbean Community, known as CARICOM, has a 10-point plan for reparatory justice, starting with demands for European countries where enslaved people were kept and traded to issue formal apologies.

CARICOM leaders expressed their frustration over the lack of concrete action.

Reuters reporter Catarina Demon wrote “Caribbean Community And Common Market: ‘Enough Talk About Reparations, Time For Concrete Results’”:

The Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) has brought its call for reparations to the United Nations, urging accountability for historical injustices that continue to deeply affect the Black community today.

Hilary Brown, a representative of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, addressed the United Nations during the second day of the fourth session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, Reuters reports. She pushed forward the reparations agenda, which includes demands for technology transfers and targeted investments to combat health crises and illiteracy.

[…]

CARICOM’s call comes on the heels of Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell’s February appeal to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urging former colonial powers to issue a formal apology and provide compensation for their historical involvement in the transatlantic slave trade.

“I don’t mean to be impolite,” Mitchell told von der Leyen, who attended CARICOM’s 48th heads of government meeting in Barbados for the first time. “But I will say it to you: the issue of reparations… is an issue we will take up with you.”