Reparation for Afrikan Enslavement: Beyond National Boundaries
Date and time
Location
Curzon Building
4 Cardigan Street Birmingham B4 7BD United KingdomDescription
On 21 October 2017, in Brixton, London, we launched the International Network of Scholars and Activists for Afrikan Reparations (INOSAAR) in collaboration with the Pan-Afrikan Reparations Coalition in Europe (PARCOE). Facilitated by an AHRC research networking grant entitled ‘Reparations for Slavery: From Theory to Praxis’, and falling under the aegis of the UN International Decade for People of African Descent, the INOSAAR includes scholars, activists and grassroots organizations, artists and many others interested parties covering a wide range of expertise. We aim to address the lack of arts and humanities research into reparations and connect to existing work in the social sciences and to ongoing grassroots and political activism. In doing so, we aim to establish a strong trans-disciplinary base from which to examine reparations and seek new ways to tackle the legacies of racism, racial discrimination and oppressions that are linked to the global history of Afrikan enslavement.
This second workshop will be held in the symbolic and central location of Birmingham in collaboration with Birmingham City University and PARCOE. These events are facilitating exchanges between scholars and activists in Europe, the U.S., Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and India. Our focus in Birmingham is to elevate the discussion on reparations beyond the national border, while addressing specific national concerns. We are urging a closer examination of the challenges facing reparations movements within different national contexts, while also seeking to understand how the concept of reparations and reparative social movements can function across national borders and world regions.
Organised by
The International Network of Scholars and Activists for Afrikan Reparations (INOSAAR) is coordinated by the University of Edinburgh and the University of Boston in collaboration with scholar-activists around the world. Over the past four years, we have strived to create an international network dedicated to reparations and other forms of transitional justice linked to the enslavement and genocide of peoples of Afrikan descent, including the invasion of the Afrikan continent by colonial powers that resulted in the oppression and deformation of Afrikan identities. Operating under the aegis of the UN International Decade for People of African Descent (2015–24) and formerly sponsored by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), our network has been exploring and expanding the meaning of reparations in link with grassroots activists and scholars engaged in the struggle for reparative justice.