The end of slavery in the United States was the beginning of a new era. Many African American families have felt the impact of slavery, either directly or indirectly. In recent times, many actors during the slave trade era are remorseful about their involvement in the trade.
No amount of compensation can ever substitute the horrors experienced by the slaves. However, compensations have come in various forms like apologies and memorialising enslaved men and women by building monuments or renaming buildings in their honour. Another form of reparation that is widely advocated for now is financial reparation.
There is an ongoing debate in congress on whether restitution would widen the division between black and white citizens or bridge the gap. Some institutions that benefited from slavery are making amends for the roles they played in promoting it.
The Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), which was built with slave labour, recently announced that is setting aside $1.7 million as an endowment fund for slavery reparations.
Some Georgetown students in April also indicated that they were instituting a reparations fund for the descendants of the slaves who were sold.
Nonetheless, the struggle for reparation did not start in the 21st century as some brave Black women have been actively fighting for reparations since 1778. Here are 4 Black women who pioneered slavery reparations:
