The movement for African Reparations is a broad, longstanding, global movement. Reparations as a term is Latin in origin, meaning to ‘repair’ or ‘restore’. The movement for African Reparations therefore seeks justice for the crimes which have been committed against Africa, Africans and people of African descent over the last 500 years. Reparationists argue for the need to address, acknowledge, and repair the damage caused by European and Western powers, from the infamous human trafficking of enslaved Africans (commomly referred to as the Slave Trade); the Scramble for Africa and subsequent colonisation of the African continent and its people; the psychological, economic and political impacts of racism; the persistence of anti-Black and anti-African racism today; and the insidious presence of neo-colonialism in Africa and the Caribbean. 

Campaigns for African Reparations have taken many forms throughout history. In the UK, although reparations-related activism has existed for a long time in anti-racist, Black Power and civil rights movements, it took a more organised form from the late 1980s onwards, as argued by leading Reparationist and scholar Esther Stanford-Xosei. That being said, demands for reparations can be traced all the way back to the eighteenth century in the considerations of abolitionist Ottobah Cugoano in his publication, Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery. Examples of calls for Reparations during the early 20th century include those made by W.E.B Du Bois throughout the series of Pan-African congresses from 1919-1927, and in Marcus Garvey’s request to the League of Nations for the creation of an African State from Germany’s confiscated colonies in the aftermath of the First World War.

 

Throughout the mid-late 20th century, Civil Rights and Black Nationalist organisations also argued for the need for Reparations, including the Nation of Islam in the 1940s, and the Civil Rights Congress who in 1951 presented the United Nations with a case entitled ‘We Charge Genocide: Relief from a Crime of the United States Government against the Negro People’. Not long after this, in 1955, the Reparations Committee for United States Slaves’ Descendants was founded by  Audley Moore, known widely as Queen Mother Moore. This group sought “relief in money damages for the victims of these injustices with which to begin a program of rehabilitation”. The development of the Rastafari movement is a key illustration of ‘unofficial’ Reparations activity, with emphasis on repatriation to Africa in both the physical and spiritual sense. On the African continent, there is also a long history of campaigns for Reparations, notably the work of Nigerian scholar Ekpo O. Eyo, who tirelessly campaigned for the restoration of African artefacts held by museums and private collections in the West. 

Arguments for Reparations go far beyond calls for financial compensation, and this is easily proven by examining Britain’s Reparations movement, and Bernie Grant’s pioneering activism in this field. One of the most significant milestones in Britain’s history of organising for African Reparations, was the founding of the African Reparations Movement UK (ARM) in 1993. It was established at the behest of Bernie Grant, who was joined by Linda Bellos, Sam Walker, Stephen Small, Dorothy Kuya and many others. ARM was officially launched at the Birmingham Conference on Reparations held on December 11th 1993 which was entitled ‘What Do Reparations Mean?’. The Birmingham Conference was itself a result of Bernie Grant’s involvement in the First Pan-African Conference on Reparations, held in Abuja, Nigeria, in April of 1993. 

Throughout its lifespan, and under Grant’s chairmanship, ARM took up many issues and topics, and sought to build a substantial movement in Britain to campaign for African Reparations, whilst building and maintaining links with the global Reparations movement. Some of the extensive work of ARM included holding public meetings and events to raise awareness of Reparations, its meaning and importance, conducting research on the impact of slavery, colonialism, and neo-colonialism especially as it pertained to Britain’s involvement, campaigning around education and the inclusion of Black history and heritage, demanding the repatriation of stolen or misappropriated artefacts from Britain’s museums and galleries, and more. 

As a Member of Parliament, Bernie Grant tabled an Early Day Motion on 10th May 1993, welcoming the Abuja Proclamation. This Proclamation had been drawn up as a declaration of the First Pan-African Conference on Reparations in Nigeria earlier that year. The Early Day Motion received 63 open signatures from other MPs, and provided publicity and media coverage for the issue of Reparations. Bernie Grant’s individual work around Reparations in his capacity as an MP was interlinked with the work of ARM, which played a vital role in strengthening Reparations-centred activism in Britain, and of course these were interlinked. However, after Grant’s passing in April 2000, ARM ceased activity and the wider Reparations movement in Britain lost a leading figure. Despite this, Grant’s legacy and that of the ARM can be seen in the ongoing Reparations campaigns in Britain, which have been sustained by a number of events, organisations and committees, from grassroots community groups to parliamentary action, and cross-collaborations between the two. 

The World Conference on Reparations to Africa and Africans in the Diaspora, Lagos Nigeria 1990

Although the Abuja Conference and its Proclamation is better known and commemorated, the event which facilitated it was the World Conference on Reparations to Africa and Africans in the Diaspora. Like the Abuja Conference, it was held in Nigeria and hosted by Chief M.K.O Abiola, in December 1990, and Bernie Grant was in attendance. One of the most significant outcomes of it was the creation of the Group of Eminent Persons (GEP), and the Commission on Reparations, two instrumental steps which bolstered the Reparations movement in the early 1990s. As outlined in its report, the World Conference discussed the following themes:

Papers Presented at the World Conference on Reparations to Africa and Africans in the Diaspora

The World Conference’s report serves as valuable evidence of the efforts on the part of scholars, activists, governmental officials and politicians, to build an international coalition for African Reparations. It also reflects the coherency of the movement’s arguments, proposals and demands throughout the 1990s. Both this and the Abuja Conference also highlight the role of Nigeria and Chief Abiola in this era of Reparations organising. The report includes papers and speech notes from key figures in Reparations theorisation, such as Chief Abiola’s welcome address, an address by then-Nigerian President Ibrahim Babangida, and papers by Professor S.E.N. Okoh, Richard Franklin, Professor Ade Ajayi, and Jamaican High Commissioner to Nigeria H.E. Dudley Thompson.

First Pan African Conference on Reparations and the Abuja Declaration 

In April 1993, The First Pan African Conference on Reparations was convened in Abuja, Nigeria. It was sponsored by the Group of Eminent Persons (GEP), the Commission for Reparations of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the Federal Government of Nigeria. The conference was hosted by Nigerian diplomat Chief MKO Abiola, who won his election for Nigerian presidency several months after in June 1993, of which the election results were annulled and he was imprisoned by the ruling dictatorship a year later. The conference led to the issuing of the Abuja Proclamation which represents a water-shed moment in the history of Reparations organising. It helped to ignite Reparations activism internationally, and this was certainly the case in Britain as is evidenced by Bernie Grant’s founding of the ARM and other activities in the aftermath of his attendance at the Conference. Like many others who attended the conference, Grant’s engagement in the Reparations was a natural extension of the organising work he had committed much of his life to, in fighting against racism and societal inequalities, and championing Africa and African communities across the globe.

The Abuja Proclamation was hugely influential in providing an ideological framework for the movement. Its main points of argument included the need for united action by Africa, its Diaspora, and the entire international community; acknowledgement of the ongoing damages felt by Africans “from Harlem to Harare.. from Guinea to Guyana… from Somalia to Suriname”; the historic precedents for reparations, including restitution by Germany to Jews for the holocaust and payments made by Germany to Europe for destruction caused by the World Wars; a proposal to grant rights for Africans and African descendants to obtain entrance and residency in African states, and much more. Others who attended from Britain alongside Bernie Grant, included human rights lawyer and longstanding Reparations advocate Lord Anthony Gifford, and Dr Patrick Wilmott, who also became active in ARM upon its founding, and Graham Gibson, his assistant.

African Reparations Movement UK

The African Reparations Movement (ARM) UK served as the foremost national organisation for Reparations in Britain, and through its connection to the Organisation of African Unity, was the UK wing of the global movement for Reparations. Active from 1993 until Grant’s death in 2000, ARM had a unique structure and programme of activities. It benefitted from the lengthy experience of Grant and others, in Britain’s anti-racist and community activist networks, in that it was structured in such a way to negate past experiences of organisational splits and internal conflicts. This was articulated in the ARM’s Activities Letter written by Grant in February 1996: “In the first phase we have concentrated on the structure which is unique – this due to the black British “disease” of splitting and in-fighting which has prevented us from building a strong national organisation”. ARM’s structure consisted of a board of trustees, with Grant as chairman, a management committee and secretariat responsible for the general running of the organisation, and various subcommittees to represent different sections of the population and their perspectives, including a student committee, youth committee, musicians committee, sports committee and so forth.

The ARM published information sheets and regularly wrote to supporters keeping them updated on the latest activities. Alongside this, ARM attempted to conduct research into the historical legacies of slavery and colonialism in Britain. The group utilised its connections to notable figures of Britain’s Black communities made possible through Grant’s public profile, and aimed to mobilise entertainers and sports figures to support ARM’s work and the wider Reparations movement. Importantly, none of this was funded, and was largely run from Grant’s constituency office, using volunteers, before the age of e-mails and websites.

Perhaps its most significant actions were around the restitution of ill-gotten African artefacts in the position of Britain’s museums and galleries, and in private collections. The famous – and ongoing – campaign for the return of the Benin Bronzes, saw ARM take a frontline role. During the period in which Britain and other European powers turned their attentions from slavery to the Scramble for Africa, British troops conducted a military invasion on the ancient kingdom of Benin (located in present-day Nigeria) in 1897, stealing artworks which held invaluable cultural significance, creative value and craftsmanship.

he British Museum acquired the largest collection of what have become known as the ‘Benin Bronzes’, but they were also scattered across the Western world, and some were lost or destroyed during the Second World War. The Nigerian government were so desperate for the return of the bronzes, that in 1980 they spent £800,000 (equal to approximately £4,300,000 in 2024) to acquire just four bronzes and a Yoruba mask at a London art auction. ARM took up this issue of restitution throughout the late 1990s, conducting historical research into how Britain acquired the Bronzes in the first place, drew up a list of museums and galleries which housed them, and wrote to them demanding their return to Nigeria.

 The ARM organised several pickets outside the British Museum and Museum of Mankind, to protest against its retention of Benin treasures and other looted items from Africa. In July 1994, in response to an ARM picket and campaign for the British Museum to return the stolen artefacts, the British Museum’s PR department wrote a response letter entitled ‘The Return of ‘Cultural Property’, refusing to relinquish ownership of the items, claiming a 1753 act of parliament requires them to “ensure that the collections are preserved for the benefit of international scholarship and the enjoyment of the general public life”. This line of argument is still used by museums and arts and heritage institutions today. In late 1996, the Scone of Stone, a famous oblong block of stone which had been used to crown Scottish monarchs since the 13th century, was successfully returned to Scotland by the British Government, 700 years after its theft. Bernie Grant released a press statement, which highlighted the hypocrisy of repatriating this stolen item, and refusing to repatriate those looted from Africa. Of this, Bernie Grant stated “what goes for one must go for all”. 

In the same vein, ARM was also involved in campaigns for the return of Ethiopian treasures, and in particular those treasures taken during the looting of a Christian church in Maqdala, Ethiopia in April 1868 by the British Army, on behalf of Queen Victoria. The Ras Tafari International Consultants, and in particular Ras  Seymour Mclean (also known as the Books Liberator) spearheaded these efforts and sought Grant’s help in persuading the British Prime Minister, the United States government, and the British Library who held many Ethiopian ancient scripts, to return them back to Ethiopia. Ras Seymour Mclean documented his struggles with the British authorities, and in Spring of 1995 his house was subjected to a raid by armed police. Through his campaigning he’d found both the British Library and government resistant to help in his mission to return the treasures, and ‘liberated’ many ancient scripts from the British Library himself. He passed away in 2014, but as he pointed out, Maqdala items looted from Ethiopia in 1872, including a gold crown and chalice, are also held by the V&A museum. 

Birmingham Conference on Reparations, ‘What Do Reparations Mean?’ 

The Birmingham Conference on Reparations was convened in December 1993, and served as the official launch of the African Reparations Movement UK (ARM). It formed part of a list of initiatives by Bernie Grant in the aftermath of the Abuja Conference, with the aim of publicising the issue of Reparations and creating the foundations for a robust British-based movement. and others. Attended by around 100 people, the event took place in the Birmingham Council Chamber. In a de-briefing letter, Grant noted that the venue, alongside the absence of attendees from Bristol, Liverpool and Cardiff, meant that the conference itself was “a rather low-key affair”. This reflection led ARM to prioritise practical action, with “less emphasis on talking”. The de-briefing letter is an excellent example of the process of self-reflection and self-criticism that is so integral to political organising and movement building. 

An important feature of the Birmingham Conference were the papers presented. In The Black Agenda for the Next Century: Rethinking the Past, Dr Patrick Wilmott articulated the urgent need for Reparations, in order to safeguard the future of Africa, Africans and African descendents from the persistent conditions of racism, Eurocentrism and neo-colonialism: “in the diaspora Africans are discriminated against, abused, harassed, denied promotion and murdered in random racist violence. On the continent, in wars reminiscent of the Slave Trade, outside forces supply both sides with weapons to wage war against their own people”.

The most famous speech that has originated from Britain’s Reparations movement, and that which remains seminal in the history of Reparations activity, was delivered by Bernie Grant, entitled ‘Reparations or Bust!’. This speech formed the basis of many public addresses as part of Grant’s speaking tour in the time between the Abuja conference of April 1993, and the Birmingham Conference in the same year. The version of this speech which has been documented in written form, is that which Grant delivered at a rally in Birmingham to a crowd of 300. He also spoke in Brixton, North London, Manchester, Liverpool, Leicester and elsewhere. Grant’s speech touched on many key issues, one of which was the issue of reclaiming Africa’s influential role in the history of humankind. Another, was the role that Black politicians should play in the Reparations movement: “We have not been in a position before in Britain where people like me, Members of Parliament who can raise matters in Parliament, who can get reported in the newspapers. Well it is about time that we put some of these people to the test – because if you are a person of African origin, knowing the situation and you sit in the House of Commons and do nothing and do not raise these issues, you are doing a disservice to your people”. 

In ‘Reparations and a New Global Order: A Comparative Overview’, by Professor Chinweizu asserted that the global system which made the ‘African holocaust’ happen, should be replaced by “a different global order where holocaust will never happen to us”. Chinweizu also argued that African self-organisation was essential for reparations, and “reparation is not even mostly about money; in fact, money is not even one percent of what reparation is about”. The Birmingham Conference papers have been archived in Bernie Grant’s collection, and a recording of the event also exists. The ‘Draft Strategy Paper on Reparations and Repatriation’ by the Ethiopian World Federation Incorporated outlined among other things, the importance of mobilising Britain’s Black communities: “There already exists a body to spearhead the campaign in Britain [ARM]… what is now required is that this campaign is grounded firmly within the grass-roots African communities in Britain”. What all of these papers had in common, was their reference to the existent examples of reparations for crimes against humanity, in the form of apologies, political and financial retributions paid to other historical oppressed and brutalised nations and communities. As these papers stressed, no such recompense had been received by Africans and African descendants. 

The most famous speech that has originated from Britain’s Reparations movement, and that which remains seminal in the history of Reparations activity, was delivered by Bernie Grant, entitled ‘Reparations or Bust!’. This speech formed the basis of many public addresses as part of Grant’s speaking tour in the time between the Abuja conference of April 1993, and the Birmingham Conference in the same year. The version of this speech which has been documented in written form, is that which Grant delivered at a rally in Birmingham to a crowd of 300. He also spoke in Brixton, North London, Manchester, Liverpool, Leicester and elsewhere. Grant’s speech touched on many key issues, one of which was the issue of reclaiming Africa’s influential role in the history of humankind. Another, was the role that Black politicians should play in the Reparations movement: “We have not been in a position before in Britain where people like me, Members of Parliament who can raise matters in Parliament, who can get reported in the newspapers. Well it is about time that we put some of these people to the test – because if you are a person of African origin, knowing the situation and you sit in the House of Commons and do nothing and do not raise these issues, you are doing a disservice to your people”. 

Birmingham Declaration

Following the precedent set by the Abuja Conference, the Birmingham Conference culminated in the Birmingham Declaration. This declaration emulated the format and arguments present in the Abuja Proclamation, but sought also to place Reparations in a British context, with mention of fateful victims of British racist violence: “Convinced that the murders in Britain, of Rolan Adams, Stephen Lawrence, Joy Gardner, Cynthia Jarrett, Omakase Lumumba and others” were the result of the same system responsible for those historic crimes against Africa and Africans, which “continues to marginalise, mis-represent and oppress us”. The Birmingham Declaration also pointed to the systemic racism manifest in disproportionately high levels of unemployment, poor housing, the over-representation of Black people in mental health institutions and in prison, the miseducation of Black children in the education system, and so forth. In this way, the Declaration drew on the global situation of Africa, Africans and African Descendants while also addressing the domestic issues affecting Britain’s Black communities, providing a clear link between the two. 

Early Day Motion and the House of Commons

As Bernie Grant asserted in ‘Reparations or Bust!’, he had a unique role to play in fighting for Reparations as a Member of Parliament. One of the methods he deployed to utilise this position was to table an Early Day Motion welcoming the Abuja Proclamation. He did this on 10th May 1993, just a couple of weeks after the Abuja Conference was held. This motion received 63 public signatures, and the support of 90 MPs. As is the case with most Early Day Motions, it was not picked up for discussion in the House of Commons, but served instead as a useful means of publicising the call for Reparations, and increasing public awareness on what Reparations actually referred to. It provided a platform for Grant and other Reparationists to discuss the issue in the media and within their communities.

In his role as MP, Bernie Grant continuously pushed for the British Government to acknowledge Britain’s role in the capture, kidnap and enslavement of Africans, African colonisation and ensuing racism. In his last address at Prime Minister’s Question Time in the House of Commons on 24th November 1999, Bernie Grant asked then-Prime Minister Tony Blair to apologise on behalf to people of African descent, both living and dead, for Britain’s role in the slave trade. Blair fell short of offering an apology, and to date the British Government has never apologised for African enslavement and colonisation. 

Lord Gifford and the House of Lords

Another leading figure in Britain’s Reparations Movement during the 1990s was Lord Anthony Gifford. In his capacity as a human rights and social justice lawyer, one of his major contributions was his publication, The Legal Basis of the Claim for Reparations. As the title describes, this work asserted that claims for Reparations had a legal basis, and the crimes inflicted upon Africa, Africans and African descendants were not only woefully immoral, but also violated international laws. This paper was initially presented in 1993 as a paper at the Abuja Conference. Previous to his work on Reparations, Lord Gifford was chairman of the Broadwater Farm and the Liverpool 8 inquiries which both investigated structural racism in Britain in the aftermath of the two locale’s uprisings.

As a member of the House of Lords until 1999, Lord Gifford raised the issue of Reparations. On 14th March 1996, in asking the British Government if they will make appropriate reparation, Lord Gifford provided a lengthy argument, highlighting the history of slavery and its legacy in modern Britain as well as internationally. Gifford concluded with a request to build a more equitable future: “As we move to the next millennium, none of us can deny that there is a growing divide between north and south, between black and white, across frontiers and within frontiers. It is in the interests of all of us to recognise that the reasons for that divide lie in a shameful past. If we realise that, we will be on the way to doing something to repair the wrong which was done, even though it may cost heavily in terms of pride and revenue. The steps to be taken will bring a happier world for all our children”.

Controversy: Reparations and Repatriation

In early October 1993, Bernie Grant was again the subject of press hysteria, when his statement on the question repatriation for Black and minoritised people in Britain, was misreported. On October 5th, The Voice newspaper ran an article entitled ‘MP Bernie Grant breaks taboo on Repatriation: ‘Take the Money and Run’. The article reported on a small meeting in Brighton that Grant had spoken at to mark the 25th anniversary of Enoch Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech. During this, Grant referenced a recent poll that suggested more than a third of Britons were in favour of forced Black repatriation. At this meeting, Grant mentioned the feelings expressed to him by his Black constituents, wearied by British racism: “They are saying to me, ‘it’s time we left this country. It’s time we were voluntarily repatriated”. This report generated a sizable uproar, and the Labour Party immediately distanced itself from Grant’s alleged remarks. Some Right Wing figures latched onto the suggestion of voluntary repatriation as advantageous to their anti-migration and anti-multiculturalism stances, including Tory MP Winston Churchill, grandson of the former Prime Minister of the same name. In light of all this distortion, Grant clarified his position, including in an article by the New Statesman and Society: “I have not advocated repatriation, as some of this week’s headlines have said… what I am in favour of, however, is of black people talking amongst themselves frankly about how we go forward in an increasingly hostile environment”. Here, Grant also placed Reparations firmly on the agenda, as the central framework for black people in Britain to be able to discuss their present conditions, and indeed shape their futures: “My own vision of the future for us as black people is connected with the campaign for reparations for Africa… I believe that it offers us both a way of understanding our situations as black people here in Britain, as well as a glimpse of an alternative future”. On 16th December 1995, Grant raised an adjournment debate in the House of Commons, pointing to the European Union’s International Organisation for Migration’s (IOM) existent voluntary repatriation scheme which had already assisted people to return to Jamaica. The IOM voiced its support for Grant’s call for a similar British-based voluntary repatriation scheme. 

Reparations today

Britain’s Reparations Movement, although heavily impacted by the passing of Grant and ceasing of ARM’s activities, continues today. One interesting development in the movement has been the continuing visibility of women activists, often at the frontlines of Reparations organising. Bell Ribeiro-Addy, who became a Member of Parliament in 2019 -, took up the baton as a Reparationist voice in the House of Commons and within British Parliamentary activities. paying tribute to Grant. In April 2023, in the same month as the 23rd anniversary of Grant’s passing, Ribeiro-Addy asked the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for an apology for Britain’s role in slavery and colonialism. Alongside others, Ribeiro-Addy also helped to organise the inaugural UK Reparations Conference in October 2023. Esther Stanford-Xosei has been a leading figure in Britain’s Reparations Movement for decades, and was a mentee of Grant’s. She has established and chaired many Reparations-focused groups and committees, and alongside others heads the Stop the Maangamizi Campaign. Today, much of Britain’s Reparations activism takes into account the connected issue of climate change and ecocide as part of the legacy of enslavement, colonialism and imperialist capitalism.

External links:

1. Stop the Maangamizi Campaign website https://stopthemaangamizi.com/
2. Bell Ribeiro-Addy requests apology for Slavery and Colonisation on 23rd anniversary of Bernie Grant’s passing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvmujD8h3kw 
3. Ras Seymour Mclean: book liberator http://www.rastafari-in-motion.org/book-liberator.html#:~:text=The%20Book%20Liberator,at%20a%20place%20called%20Maqdala. 
4. “We Shall Be Telling Our Own Stories” https://www.cairn.info/revue-politique-africaine-2022-1-page-143.htm#no29 
5. Bernie Grant asks Tony Blair for apology for slavery and colonisation, 29 November 1999 https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1999/nov/24/engagements#S6CV0339P0_19991124_HOC_71, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4a74NC6aQA 
6. The Independant, ‘Grant Isolated over Repatriation’, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/grant-isolated-over-repatriation-parties-distance-themselves-from-black-mp-s-comments-will-bennett-and-colin-brown-report-1509086.html 
7. Hansard – Caribbean Voluntary Resettlement Adjurnment Debate https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/1995-12-19/debates/df33c33f-1f2d-4bf7-96f0-c816a4bc3b72/Caribbean(VoluntaryResettlement)