AFRICANS ARE OWED REPARATIONS

Whenever someone raises reparations as a just compensation to Africans in the United States for the atrocities they and their ancestors are and were subjected to—starting from the European slave trade that crossed the Atlantic Ocean—detractors rush to say these Africans only want free money.

While the West has had no qualms about paying reparations to the victims of the European Holocaust, they remain largely opposed to doing the same for the descendants of the Africans who were kidnapped from the continent and shipped in inhumane conditions to labor as slaves in the Americas.

Enduring genocidal conditions that included splitting up families and punishing the practice of culture, Africans' forced labor built the economy of the United States. Today, the US government refuses to acknowledge Africans' pain and contribution in turning unceded territory into an economic powerhouse. Further, Africans continue to face colonial conditions in segregated US neighbourhoods, lacking access to decent water, food, healthcare, housing, education and jobs. This comes as the US state deploys its agents—the police—to harass, imprison and sometimes kill Africans.

In this clip, Chinganji Akinyela, a founding member of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, makes the case for why the United States owes reparations to African people.

How could Africans in the United States obtain reparations? Is it a good idea? Let us know what you think.