The call for reparations made by Caribbean governments, organisations and institutions, demanding that their former colonisers make amends for the atrocities they committed during the so-called Transatlantic slave trade– and the extraordinary wealth they amassed as a consequence of it – has mainly been met with a wall of silence in the Global North. However, to understand the relationship between reparations for slavery and persisting racial inequalities in the here and now, the past should not be conceived as a distant place. It should instead be viewed as a starting point to understand why the case for reparations is so crucial in the struggle against racism.
In the 17th century European nations created laws, which legally classified African people as goods, i.e. items of property. The implementation of these Acts facilitated the forced migration, subsequent enslavement and appropriation of African labour. Between 1619 and 1865, enslaved Black labour was the backbone of the agricultural economy in the Caribbean and American mainland. Millions of people were murdered, raped and mutilated during The Middle Passage from Africa, and also on the plantations in the Americas. Black bodies were literally worked to death in sugar, cotton and tobacco fields, whereas the capital accumulated from their labour contributed to industrialising America, Britain and other European nation states, whilst undermining the development of social, economic and political infrastructures in Africa and the Caribbean. Following Emancipation and up until the mid-20th century, the racial social order in the United States was maintained by replacing enslavement with Jim Crow segregation, the peonage system and the lynch mob. It was not until after the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed that Blacks could to some extent vote without fear of being lynched. Paradoxically, lynching only became a federal offence in the United States in March 2022, and the maximum penalty for the crime is just 30 years imprisonment. The rise of anti-racist social movements in the 21st century, such as Black Lives Matter, suggests that the more things change regarding the prevalence of racism in society, is the more they actually remain the same.
Maintaining illiteracy amongst the slave workforce was a mechanism used to suppress rebellions, keep slaves ignorant, impoverished and dependent on their masters. Similarly, the disproportionate school exclusions of Black children in Britain’s contemporary educational sector, constrains their subsequent labour market participation and condemns African Caribbean families to generational poverty. For hundreds of years European slaveowners commodified the bodies of Black women. They produced children, for the commercial benefit of their owners, who had the same slave status as their mothers and were forced to labour in the plantation fields alongside them. In the U.K. today, Black female bodies are still perceived through the lens of their race. Racism is acknowledged as a major factor in ethnic health inequalities, and evident in the disproportionality of miscarriages and stillbirths between Black and White females. In comparison to their male peers, increasingly more Black women are accessing occupations in the higher tier professions of the National Statistics Socio-Economic Classifications. However, women of African heritage are still over-represented in menial low-paid and insecure work, which leaves the majority of them on the periphery of poverty.
Blacks are more likely than their White counterparts to experience long-term unemployment, debilitating mental illnesses and reside in areas of high social deprivation. Black males are also overrepresented in the criminal justice systems of Britain and the U.S., formerly the two major slave-owning nations. The Blackening of the U.S. and U.K. prison populations since the 1980s also suggests that prisons are the new plantations, in which the appropriation and exploitation of Black enslaved labour has been superseded by Black unfree labour. The negative social and economic experiences of Black people, in the education and labour markets, and also in the housing and health sectors, are not unique to Britain and America. They are normative features, albeit operating on different levels, in the societies of every former colonial nation.
What I argue in this blog space is that racism continues to constrain Black life-chances and opportunities. Moreover, racial inequality, in neoliberal capitalist societies, emanates from historical relationships of power. The current geo-economic dominance of nation states in the Global North, and poverty and political instability in the Global South, cannot be fully understood without examining the past colonial and imperial footprints left by European nations. The case for reparations suggests that the West became rich at the expense of the rest, and the enslavement of Africans was instrumental in that process. The posts I will be uploading here will consist of research, articles, narratives, testaments and other sources of evidence supporting reparations for slavery, and its significance to racial justice. The aim is to demonstrate how the past provides a window to understand the functions of racism and race inequalities in the present. I welcome your comments, posts and views on the perpetuity of racism and what forms of structural reformation are needed to achieve an equitable society. Your views are welcome, even if they disagree with my own.
SOCIAL ACTION SOCIETY C.I.C. 
very interesting
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I agree with it
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I agree with what is being said
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very informative
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I also read about how black women have alot more failings when it comes to childbirth in hospitals
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I agree that reparations should be made, particularly due to the huge masses of wealth that colonising countries gained. I find it quite sickening that the ‘global north’ are enjoying the wealth emassed from slavery all these years later whilst the colonised countries are still living in poverty, I don’t think it’s enough to say ‘oh we gave them their freedom back’ because freedom cannot work in isolation, they need the resources and the wealth back too.
The forced migration of people scares me, as this is currently happening in Palestine with over a million civilians told today to quickly leave because in 24 hours soldiers are coming to kill everyone and everything. Thus forcing people to leave their homes.
It feels as though non of the European countries that currently enjoy relative wealth deserve it. Africa is one of the poorest countries globally yet it was off the back of African labour that 15th-18th century agricultural economy rose contributing to the industrial revolution in the global north.
With regards to the current situation for black children in schools I unfortunately have to say I agree as I have witnessed this myself. Two students in a predominantly white school were involved in the same incident, only one was permanently excluded, the only black child enrolled at the school! This child was not advocated for as he had white foster parents who also agreed he was aggressive in nature. Whilst that may be the case, in this instance the white child had done the SAME thing and did not recieve an equal consequence.
Many black people talk of not belonging. I believe this stems from situations where we as a society call a black american an African American, whereas a white american is simply American. Members of society will tell black people to “go home”, when they ARE home.
I agree that society continues to oppress and perceive black people in a negative way, much helped by the media and institutional racism, which DOES exist.
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I agree that slavery was bad as many people suffered. But we can’t eradicate racism worldwide as it would cause an argument. There have been other communities in the world that have faced the same issues but no one knows their story. If the global north nations apologised they couldn’t repay the damage they caused. Yes, they made money but if we didn’t have an industrial movement we might still be stuck with basic commodities, with trade agreements in place today everybody hopefully now gets a fair share of the world’s resources without one nation claiming it all.
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I agree that slavery was bad as many people suffered. But we can’t eradicate racism worldwide as it would cause an argument. There have been other communities in the world that have faced the same issues but no one knows their story. If the global north nations apologised they couldn’t repay the damage they caused. Yes, they made money but if we didn’t have an industrial movement we might still be stuck with basic commodities, with trade agreements in place today everybody hopefully now gets a fair share of the world’s resources without one nation claiming it all.
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I agree that slavery was bad, But we can’t eradicate racism as it would cause an argument. There have been many communities who have faced the same issues but no one knows their story. If the global north nations apologised they could not repay the damage they had done. Yes, they made money but if we didn’t have an industrial movement then we would be stuck with basic commodities, Hopefully now with the trade agreements in place today everybody gets a fair share of the world’s resources without one country claiming it all.
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The enslavement of the Black peoples, hideous on the largest scale, still impacts on today’s generation and will for many years here after. We would be foolish to think reparations could fix what wrongs had been done although I agree they should be made at the very least. I agree the conversation is still an ongoing one and very much needed, very much still a work in progress. In the education system and employment we have to tick a box: what is your ethnicity? It would be interesting to see how this is actually being used and whether it is used to ensure that everyone has the same chances in life. Financial Support could help future generations, funding should be provided to those areas impacted, especially in schooling. The Media have a massive part to play in how black women are perceived and if they’re not objectified they are ‘angry’ stereotypes. Representation is important and knowing a person for ones mind regardless of who they are unfortunately seems too much for many to grasp. I do wonder whether this has an impact on how pregnant / new mothers are seen and if black women aren’t being ‘heard’ when voicing concerns perhaps? Many questions for all areas, I agree with what has been said.
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I’m just reading a history paper and I can’t believe all the things they write in this paper but I’m sure it’s true. For example, by 1915, 28 states made a marriage between “black people”, Asians, “Indians”, Latinos and a White person illegal. And Eugenics to breed better humans.
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I totally agree that the countries that seeks reparation.
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I agree – there is a massive inequality between ethnicities. Black people do not have the opportunities as white people , and they are still not getting the same treatment and benefits in all institutions.
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I agree however discussing or putting this metter out will cause a bigger problem which can lead to people to suffer again and more.
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I agree that black people wre misrepresented within society. Despite the event implementations with blm it still doesn’t seem like enough as it keep continuing and we’re just seeing racism under reported and not seen on the news.
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An interesting topic, see clearly that English society is built upon foundations that contribute to white supremacy and the victimisation of black males. Police brutality is rife and they very rarely take accountability for their failings
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I completely agree with what is being said. I think that reparations should be paid to families for the events of the past but that there is no amount of money that can be paid to ease the burdens of the past
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Completely agree. Racial inequalities would typically be ignored without movements being set in place.
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Corinna I believe we will never be able to begin to fix what has happened in the past while the misconceptions and misrepresentations still exist as not everyone in society will want to change their thoughts and beliefs. Lots of people are brought up around those beliefs and pass them on to their kids so racism will always be prevalent in society. White privilege is a real thing and while that exists racism will exist alongside
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i agree with this statement as the media usually portray young black males as gang members, and indian males as terrorists. where as if a WHITE male was to attack a public place he would be classed as a person who has mental health issues or he was not in the right head space.
the media need to change their perspectives on how they portray groups because that can then lead to moral panics. which cohen said is an exaggerated over reaction to a perceived problem or threat.
moreover the media would therefore be demonising those groups to shift the purblind focus away from any other significant problem that society may be having.
summer
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Corinna…. I don’t believe we will ever repair what has happened in the past. Racism will always exist where White privilege is a thing. Until we break down barriers and eradicate racism there will be no fix for the past. Generations passing down these beliefs and misconceptions ensures this.
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When looking at the Misrepresentations of black people within the media we have to look at the history. The Navigation Acts 1600/1700 facilitated the enslavement of Africans by classifying Blacks as items of property, meaning they had no rights allowing the exploitation of their labour. Up until 1940’s people were forced to work for free; and it was only in March 29th 2022 did anti-lunching legislation come into play highlights that it still wasn’t illegal to lynch black people up until present day. When looking at the present day, we can understand that the media misrepresent black individuals where the media stereotype of black pathology is consistently reinforced and the victims are created by their cultural inferiority. The media focus on cultural and biological explanations of the relationship between race and crime as they are the natural order which we use to construct our society, overlooking the social factors which may come into play when understanding why ethnic minorities are misrepresented.
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Yeonsu Kim : i think that there is a need for a priority welfare policy in the job market. Looking at the race-property class table in Birmingham, the guarantee of wealth and prestige seems to be a priority.
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Denis-Alexandru
Racism has been a part of society since forever. Even in egyptians times blacks were used as slaves. Coming back to recent times lynching became a federal crime in the US. We were born in a world were racism is normalised, and even if movements such as Black Lives Matter exist, it is extremly hard to combat institutional racism.
The link between high-crime regions and black comunities living there is very misleading because the people that are living in these parts of the cities do so because the lack of opportunities and because of the institutional racism that they experience troughout their lifetime.
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Suwon Han
Racism from slavery in the past is less, but it still exists. Sharing authority based on the color of human skin and discriminating against opportunities is the most meaningless thing in our society. However, there are still many people who still have white supremacy, and racism against Asians as well as against black women. The irony of me coming to Britain was that blacks who suffered the most from skin color also ended up discriminating against Asians. We all need to grow up. We all need to recognize that we are all the same human beings. Just as the racism incident was an issue at the Oscars last week. After all, it will be our modern society that should get rid of those ideas. I hope that the future will be without the invisible glass ceiling caused by skin color.
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Reparations are entirely necessary, the UK and other Western countries have stunted the growth of so many countries. “Helping” countries through limited independence in commonwealth and what is essentially just pretty words that are superficial. Direct benefits can be seen, in ways that western countries have developed / what is displayed in museums etc.
The west stole the opportunity of the countries they stole from, they have directly disadvantaged them, and one of the most important ways that has happened is economically.
With the amount of money spent and wasted on useless schemes in government, we can more than afford to do our part to pay reparations. The only reason we wouldn’t be able to would be due to corruption and money-grappling mps and lords. Media influenced by the billionaire owners convince us that this is going to benefit us as the general population.
Paying reparations will bring progress to so many people. I believe it’s completely necessary.
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– seungjoo lee
Racism against black people appears to have disappeared, but remains rampant throughout society. Recently, the media has made it seem like our society is friendly to people of color, with black people playing the main characters in animations, but in reality, black people are discriminated against and suffer behind the scenes. It makes black people look like they commit more crimes than other races, which makes people feel hostile towards black people. We should not just accept what appears in the media, but should look for the hidden intentions of media producers.
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Woori Chae / Through today’s class and this article, I learned that racial discrimination against black people has continued from the past to the present. Discrimination that began with slavery continues into the current labor market. I learned that a greater number of black people experience long-term unemployment and live in areas of high social deprivation. I was able to learn in what context the social movement against racial discrimination took place. Everyone must make efforts to ensure that the discrimination continues to this day does not continue into the future.
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Hyoin Jeong
The movie “Mississippi Burning” comes to mind. In that movie, there is a line that goes, “Hatred is aquired, not innate. The brain that has been taught segregation and discrimination continually reinforces that hatred, and it eventually becomes a way of life.” Deep-rooted racial inequality still creates disparities in perception and financial treatment. To create a just society, it is crucial for the media, government, and all citizens to maintain ongoing awareness and address issues of societal racial discrimination without bias.
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