The issue of reparations has gathered momentum and a renewed sense of urgency in recent years. Cambridge University announced that it will investigate its links with slavery. And Glasgow University has become the first British University to set up a reparative justice scheme. But not everybody agrees that this is the best way forward. They argue that we are talking about crimes committed by and two people long since gone.
For this archive debate from 2019, we invited a panel of top speakers to discuss the motion: The West Should Pay Reparations For Slavery. Should there be a broad programme of reparations – not just financial compensation, but acknowledgement of the crimes committed and the lasting damage caused by slavery? Or would this just worsen social tensions by reopening old wounds? Arguing for the motion were Kehinde Andrews, Professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City University; and Esther Stanford-Xosei, reparations activist and lawyer. Arguing against the motion were Katharine Birbalsingh, headmistress and co-founder of Michaela Community School in London; and Tony Sewell, educational consultant and CEO of the charity Generating Genius. The debate was chaired by social historian, author and academic, Emma Dabiri.
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