Confronting the Past, Claiming the Future

Could you introduce yourself and your work?  

Good morning, I am Chairman of the National Reparations Committee as well as a member of the CARICOM Reparations Commission. I am also a former minister of government in Grenada. As well, with regards to my legal profession, I have served as a magistrate in the Commonwealth of Dominica.  

We have been active as a National Commission for Reparations in Grenada since 2022 or thereabouts. Before that we had what was called a preparatory committee from 2019, and while we have indeed made some progress with regards to our advocacy for reparations globally: we have awakened the consciousness of Grenadians on the subject of reparations.  

Could speak a little to the history of Grenada’s fighting for forms of repair?   

Grenada: A Legacy of Resistance and Leadership  

Grenada is a country of resistance. One of our significant revolts was in 1795, popularly referred to as the Fédon Rebellion, where Julian Fédon and his men took control of Grenada for about 15 months from April 1795 up until 1796.  

You must also be aware that in the Haitian Revolution, one of their leaders Henri Christophe, was Grenadian. So Grenada has always resisted slavery, and we have always been at the forefront of struggle for black people all over the world. Before Eric Gairy became Prime Minister in 1951, we would hear the elderly people say that Sir Eric fought for better working conditions on the plantations. You have to appreciate that just like the rest of the Caribbean from 1838 to 1938, the working conditions of labourers and so on remained basically the same for 100 years in the region.  

Of course, there is the 1979 revolution led by Maurice Bishop. The Grenada Revolution from 1979 to 1983 is arguably the most progressive part of Grenada’s history. We believe that in the four and a half years that the Revolution survived, they made leaps and bounds in terms of education. They were able to establish the National Insurance Union, the Mercatillo National Important Board (?) . They were able to establish banks. Development of Grenada went leaps and bounds during this revolution. Today, our international airport, as well as a major roadway, are named after him. 

Modern Leadership in the Reparations Movement

These watershed moments in Grenada’s history of resistance, of struggle, we continue through the reparations movement. Last year we [Grenada’s NRC] wrote to the Bank of England that had owned 599 slaves and three plantations directly in Grenada.  

The Bank of England, deliberately and through whether or not persons who were holding loans by default owned slaves and plantations. Just about three weeks ago, a British researcher confirmed that King George IV received a thousand pounds directly in his account in 1823, 1824, for 10 years, up to 1830, had owned and received direct monies from properties in Grenada. The royal family benefited directly from the crimes against humanity here in Grenada. So Grenada seems to for one reason or the other to be thrust by its past into a position of leadership of the reparations movement.  

We continue to do whatever we can working through the Caricom Reparations Commission, seeking guidance from our colleagues in the region, and we continue to keep the flame alive.  

What are you looking forward to in the ongoing movement for reparations in the Caribbean?

We do not do anything without the guidance of the CARICOM Reparations Commission. In fact, the Ten- Point Plan is not just a platform for us individuals, but you would observe it’s a platform globally that other reparations movements in the US, in Africa, wherever else, will look to the Ten-Point Plan for guidance. That Ten-Point Plan of course is under revision and we are hoping that in the not too distant future it will be made public, as I believe tremendous work has been done. The old  Ten-Point Plan was released in 2014 or thereabouts so it needs review.  

As research continues to come to light, Grenada has been thrust really in the forefront and we hope that we can run our leg of the relay as fast and as successfully as we can. 

Grenada is playing its role and is doing as much as we can, of course, in tandem with the region. And of course you know, this struggle for reparative justice is not just confined to the Caribbean. As much as we continue to lobby and to advocate for reparative justice globally, we also have to play a role to ensure that our state citizenry, that the men and women on the streets of St. George’s, in Grenada, understand the issues of reparation.  

Let’s not forget that in many respects we have endured a colonial education where the narrative of our history was taught to us by the colonizers and by the state masters. So now we now have to change that narrative and treat and awaken among our people to appreciate and to love themselves.  

We have to speak to ourselves, create that awareness, create that consciousness. We are grateful for the work that The Repair Campaign has been doing, and look forward to our ongoing partnership.