For decades, calls for reparations have been dismissed as impractical, with opponents arguing that those directly affected by slavery and colonialism are no longer alive.
However, Africa’s push for reparatory justice is no longer fragmented. The AU is now leading efforts to develop a continental framework, consolidating existing campaigns and strengthening Africa’s position on the global stage.
The significance of this movement was underscored at the 38th AU Heads of State and Government Summit in Addis Ababa on February 18, 2024, which ran under the theme “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations”.
Reparation campaigns or calls can be traced back to the 18th century civil society activism in the African diaspora.
The campaigns have their roots in Pan-Africanists who began in America and the Caribbean. Figures like St Thomas’ Edward Blyden, Trinidad’s Henry Sylvester-Williams, South Africa’s Alice Kinloch and the five Pan-African congresses organised by America’s W.E.B. du Bois and Trinidad’s George Padmore between 1919 and 1945 were critical in pushing for Africa’s imbuing consciousness and liberation.
