The Africa exception: the slavery reparations debate was once āunthinkableā. Now it is unavoidable | TheBriefWire
The Africa exception: the slavery reparations debate was once āunthinkableā. Now it is unavoidable
Published 6 June 2026 Ā· politics
The architect of the African Unionās reparations framework for the historic UN resolution explains why demands for historical justice are inseparable from the struggle for
The architect of the African Unionās reparations framework for the historic UN resolution explains why demands for historical justice are inseparable from the struggle for Black sovereignty Last month, at commemorations marking the 25th anniversary of Franceās Taubira law recognising the trafficking of enslaved Africans as a crime against humanity, Emmanuel Macron did the unthinkable: he became the first French president to publicly utter the word āreparationsā. Since 1825, when France punished Haiti for daring to declare itself the western worldās first Black sovereign republic by extorting 150m francs in compensation for the loss of what it regarded as enslaved āpropertyā, reparations to Black peoples and nations have been politically āunthinkableā. Continue reading...
Published: June 6, 2026 ā¢ 4:30 PM IST Ā· Updated: June 7, 2026 ā¢ 6:01 PM ISTBy TheBriefWire Editorial Team
Key points
The architect of the African Unionās reparations framework for the historic UN resolution explains why demands for historical justice are inseparable from the struggle for Black sovereignty Last month, at commemorations marking the 25th anniversary of Franceās Taubira law recognising the trafficking of enslaved Africans as a crime against humanity, Emmanuel Macron did the unthinkable: he became the first French president to publicly utter the word āreparationsā.
Since 1825, when France punished Haiti for daring to declare itself the western worldās first Black sovereign republic by extorting 150m francs in compensation for the loss of what it regarded as enslaved āpropertyā, reparations to Black peoples and nations have been politically āunthinkableā.
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