The definition of reparations is “The action of making amends for a wrong one has done, by providing payment or other assistance to those who have been wronged.”
Have there been any reparations paid to the Black communities?
Since summer 2020 there was a brief moment where companies pledged to help.
One that springs to mind is Lloyd’s of London.
Lloyd’s of London started as a coffee house 330 years ago. Owned by Edward Lloyd, it was popular for merchants, sailors, and ship-owners.
In the 1730’s it was a key place for shipping insurance, they insured for the loss of sugar, coffee, and the deaths of enslaved people.
Rewind back to June 2020 and Lloyds of London apologised for its shameful role in slavery and pledged to fund opportunities for black and ethnic minority groups.
The topic of UK institutions to pay reparations for the involvement in slavery became relevant when Richard Drax was in the news.
Richard Drax is the conservative MP for South Dorset, who comes from inherited wealth.
Painful inherited wealth.
Richard Drax has been facing demands to pay reparations for his family’s part in the slave trade.
After it was revealed that he now has inherited the 250-hectare Drax Hall plantation.
Figures from the Caribbean Community’s (Caricom) Reparations Commission described the Drax Hall plantation as a “killing field” and a “crime scene”.
Tens of thousands of enslaved Africans who died there in terrible conditions between 1640 and 1836.
The Draxes also owned a slave plantation in Jamaica which they sold in the 18th century.
Drax said: “I am keenly aware of the slave trade in the West Indies, and the role my very distant ancestor played in it is deeply, deeply regrettable.
No one can be held responsible today for what happened many hundreds of years ago. This is a part of the nation’s history, from which we must all learn.’’
We are still witnessing the nation’s history affecting today’s climate.
From the handling of the current pandemic, education and the workplace – it doesn’t stop.
Meanwhile, in the US President-Elect, Joe Biden and VP Kamala Harris reintroduced a bill in the House to examine reparations for the African American descendants of slavery.
The commission of 13 people would be tasked with examining the history of slavery in the United States and the systemic racism that resulted.
Which included federal and state governments’ role in supporting it, and “recommend appropriate remedies” to Congress.
The bill, known as HR 40, was reintroduced by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat.
Support for the bill has grown steadily since it was introduced in 1989 by then-Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., when 23 representatives co-sponsored it.
So who knows, let’s hope in this instance where America leads the UK will soon follow.
#adeptales #stayadept #reparations #lloydsoflondon #ukgovernment #racism #blm #drax #barbados #saintgeorge
