Bahama Times

Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

An apology denied is justice denied

An apology denied is justice denied

Activist David Weaver remembers the day, 20 years ago, when Britain told a world conference there would be no apology for slavery
IT WAS exactly 20 years ago, on 3rd September, that the UK prime minister, Tony Blair, boldly rose to announce his and the British Government’s blatant refusal to give an outright apology for slavery and Britain’s role in the evil enslavement of African people.

This took place at the World Conference Against Racism that was held in Durban, South Africa.

People tend to say that the decision to embark on the war in Iraq was Blair’s greatest failure but for me – as a descendant of enslaved Africans – his biggest failure and ultimate disgrace was authorising the British Government’s refusal to apologise for slavery.

This was a move that most Black people in Britain saw as grievous disrespect and one which we cannot ever forgive or forget. Indeed, I would argue that this decision has continued the intergenerational racialised trauma faced by descendants of the enslaved people and one which has given absolute legitimacy to institutionalised and structural racism in this country.

At the time I was chair of the 1990 Trust (a high profile anti-racist and human rights) body and a significant number of our team and networks attended the conference in Durban).

We were shocked by the absolute depth of resistance of the British Government to giving an apology.

While some other European nations wanted to apologise, Britain joined the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal and proposed only to express “regret” about the slave trade, without any specific recognition of responsibility.

Britain’s decision completely disregarded the loud calls for reparations from Commonwealth countries and its own black citizens.

Why is marking this day important? For me, the World Conference Against Racism was a wake-up call to Britain and a sign that many other European powers are not prepared to turn their eyes away from a global atrocity indefinitely. More importantly, the conference sparked a moment when Africans from all over the world, representing all forms of activism, came together and forged alliances which are now bearing fruit two decades on.

Indeed, Jamaica has put a price tag on slavery and has sent the British government the bill. State officials of
the Caribbean nation said they’re asking Great Britain to pay $10.6 billion (USD) in reparations.

And the calls for the apology and for reparations have not lessened – in fact they have increased. Out of the Durban conference has arisen a healthy convergence between the consciousness emerging from the Black Lives Matter movements, Pan-Africanist thought, and countries extricating themselves from colonial powers.

The recent announcement by Barbados of its intention to remove Queen Elizabeth as its head of state and become a
republic no doubt presages its own claim for reparations. In the U.S, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee has pushed a bill to form a commission to study reparations for African- American victims of the transatlantic slave trade.

In this country, amidst the furore about statues, street names and so called ‘stately homes’, there is a subliminal argument being posed by those who oppose Britain apologising for the transatlantic slave trade and making reparations for it. “It was a long time ago get over it – after all David you were never a slave”. What hypocrisy!
Reparations have already been paid for the slave trade – but only to the descendants of the White ‘Slave Owners’!

The fact is that the British government borrowed £20 million from the taxpayer – which amounted to a massive 40 percent of the Treasury’s annual income or about 5 percent of British GDP, to hand to the enslavers.

The loan was one the largest in history.

It was only in 2015 that, according to the Treasury, British taxpayers (including you and I – the victims of this evil so-called trade) finished ‘paying off’ the debt. In short, we have suffered the compound insult of not only being told by our government that we are not worthy of an apology – we as descendants of our enslaved ancestors have been paying off a debt used to compensate the people who kidnapped, raped, murdered and brutalised my family members just four generations ago.

History teaches many lessons; but it is up to us whether we dismiss them or fashion them into powerful arguments for righting past injustices.

Britain is sadly mistaken if it views Durban as settling its account on the slave trade.

It must now reconcile its past with a futureburgeoning with demands from Africans at home and abroad for an apology and reparations.But it will only happen if we ‘do for self’ – and recognise our responsibility to bequeath tofuture generations a society better than we found it.

Central to this has to be ensuring thatwe use our political leverage – including our voting power – to ensure that we, our childrenand children’s children receive the dignity of an apology for the most heinous violation ofhuman rights ever.

That apology will only ring true if backed by hard currency that is commensurate with the scale of funds needed to build strong Black communities.

It’s the least Britain can do in recognising the suffering and the courage of our ancestors.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Bahama Times
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×