Hello {{ first name | friends}},
I didn't know it when I started, but I ended up with a bit of a theme this month - reparations. This edition contains four perspectives on the issue (one in the 'Of Note' section) from African scholars and a Caribbean organisation. Other pieces examine different aspects of racism, as well as sharing some hopeful examples. Ready to dig in?
1. Present but Displaced: What Western Objections to Reparations Fail to See by Solomon Osei Poku
This article examines where arguments against reparations for enslavement fall short, and why.
“ the analytical question is not merely where slavery belongs in a hierarchy of evil. It is which institutions it produced, which survived abolition and who continues to bear their consequences. When semantic disagreement displaces these questions, legal precision becomes a route around institutional responsibility.”
2. White Hoods and Race Hustle: The KKK's Pyramid Scheme, Then and Now by Khafre Jay
Here, Khafre Jay looks into the history and founding of the Klan - and how it's evolved and rebranded for a new era:
“Simmons was selling something remarkably thin. The product was a costume, a secret handshake, and permission to hate people they already hated for free. And they paid for it. Gladly. Repeatedly. The mark of a truly brilliant con is that the customer feels like a patriot while being robbed; similar to an orange man I see too often on TV today.”
3. Ghana slavery apology: Why many descendants say words are not enough by Dwomoh-Doyen Benjamin
To my mind, there's no question that reparations are due. What actually constitutes restitution is a different matter. This article presents some of the perspectives:
“The debate about whether an apology is enough reflects a wider divide within the global reparations movement. While some see formal acknowledgement as an essential first step, others argue it has little meaning without measures that address the enduring consequences of slavery.”
4. They're Not WAITING For Permission by Dr. Tana M. Session
A room, and a country, where women leaders are the norm? More of that, please! Dr. Tana Session reports on an event that shows what's possible:
“The next generation of female leaders in Rwanda already has representation. Young girls in this country grow up looking up and seeing women in government, in leadership, in positions of real power and real authority. That is not aspirational for them. It is NORMAL. They don't have to imagine it. They can SEE it. And what you can SEE...you can BECOME.”
P.S. I believe girls in Barbados also benefit from this: the Prime Minister is a woman, as was the previous President, as are many leaders in the country. Still, the example of Rwanda continues to inspire.