News

The Repair Campaign has welcomed the inclusion of reparatory justice for slavery on the agenda of the 48th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM (Caribbean Community), which takes place this week in Barbados (19th – 21st February).

The Church of England is to be commended for its commitment to slavery reparations. The
Policy Exchange think tank criticises the Church on the basis that its reparations plan may
lead other institutions – including the Government and Royal Family – to pay reparations. If
this were to be the outcome of the Church’s actions, it would be most welcome.

Barbados is set to escalate its campaign for reparations against Richard Drax, the British Conservative MP and owner of Drax Hall plantation, as negotiations remain stalled over the St George estate where African ancestors suffered centuries of brutal enslavement.

The National Task Force on Reparations (NTFR) also plans to launch a public education initiative about the plantation’s history of slavery, aiming to pressure Drax into acknowledging his family’s role in the slave trade and negotiating compensation.

Harvard University has laid off the staff of its Harvard Slavery Remembrance Program, the unit of its $100 million Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery initiative tasked with identifying the direct descendants of those enslaved by Harvard affiliates.

Lloyd’s Register, the maritime and industrial group owned by one of Britain’s biggest charities, has apologised for its role in the trafficking of enslaved African people but has been criticised for not going far enough.

Founded in 1760 as the Society for the Registry of Shipping by merchants and underwriters who met at Edward Lloyd’s coffee house in Lombard Street in London, the company provided classification for ships.

The treasured island of Balliceaux is no longer for sale, as it is being acquired by the government of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).

This was announced on Monday January 13, 2025 by Minister of Finance Camillo Gonsalves, during his presentation of his 2025 Budget address. Considered by the minister as a act of historical reclamation, Minister Gonsalves said this was triggered in 2024 by the prime minister’s declaration that the Government would seek to either purchase or acquire the island of Balliceaux.

Celebrating 221 years of Haitian independence, local authorities used the opportunity in New Year’s Day to remind France that it needs to repay the country billions in reparations for forcing it to make cash payments to France to avoid attempts at recolonization.

Thursday, 9 January 2025 (CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown): CARICOM Chair, Hon. Mia Amor Mottley, SC, Prime Minister of Barbados, says the Community welcomes the 17 December United Nations Declaration of a Second International Decade for People of African Descent, which began on 1 January 2025.

IN BRITAIN, the story of slavery is often reduced to a simple morality tale about how a few benevolent White men like William Wilberforce brought an end to the slave trade.

If we wish to dismantle racism, the countries that built their wealth through colonialism and slavery must acknowledge their past crimes and apologise for them… racism is one of the major obstacles to reparations currently.

The disparity in responses between the Church and the government raises important questions about who is ready to confront the legacy of colonialism and who continues to sidestep it.

As many Europeans continue to make negative comments towards countries demanding reparations, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has doubled down, describing the call as a “just demand”.