Reparations for Slavery – Reality or Fantasy?

Let’s confront the question posed by the title of this article right away. Are reparations for slavery a realistic possibility or just a fantasy? I firmly believe that reparations are a practical, fair, and achievable way to compensate the descendants of Africans in the Caribbean for the atrocities committed by European nations during the transatlantic slave trade and slavery.

Many people in Antigua and Barbuda, and in the black world at large, perhaps a majority, believe that reparations are unlikely, a mere dream, and will never happen. Respectfully, and with no intention to offend anyone, those individuals should ask themselves: why should other races and peoples receive reparations for injustices done to them, and not black people? Is the black race considered unequal, such that we are undeserving of an apology and compensation for the injustices we have faced?

The Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Commission (ABRSC) notes that the concept of reparations was never foreign to the thinking of the British, US, and European nations. ABRSC presents the following facts in support of their contention:

So again, why should Afro-Caribbeans not receive appropriate compensation for wrongs committed against them? ABRSC defines reparations as the act of redressing a wrong. It states that the reparations process involves recognizing past injustices, addressing current inequalities, and implementing measures to restore dignity, rights, and opportunities to affected groups. This concept is grounded in the principles of justice, fairness, and reconciliation, which aim to repair social, economic, and psychological damages caused to our communities.

The argument is made that reparations for the horrific and murderous treatment meted out during slavery are impossible to quantify, as the sum would be so enormous that no nation could afford it—not even the United States or the United Kingdom. Furthermore, the amounts mentioned in the reparation examples above are paltry compared to what would be required to compensate for the wrongs committed during slavery in the Caribbean. Skeptics should review the Caricom Reparations Commission’s (CRC) proposals. These proposals are mainly developmental and can be funded by the offending nations over time using various methods, including in-kind contributions rather than cash. Briefly, Caricom governments have identified ten (10) areas that represent the path toward reconciliation, truth, and justice for the victims and descendants of chattel slavery (where people were treated as property and not human beings), and for indigenous genocide (the intentional killing of the native Tainos/Arawaks and Kalinagos/Caribs). These are:

Therefore, reparations as proposed by the CRC are not about paying cash to today’s descendants of slaves. The ten areas mentioned above require detailed analysis, which will be addressed in future articles. However, before that, I need to introduce you to the primary arguments made by European countries that oppose paying reparations for slavery. Their chief defense is that slavery was legal at the time, similar to the infamous statement from the UN Conference against Racism held in Durban, South Africa, in 2001, that “slavery and the slave trade are a crime against humanity and should always have been so.” 

As indicated above, the European enslavers practiced chattel slavery. Chattel slavery is a system where one person is treated as the absolute property, or chattel, of another and can be bought, sold, or traded like livestock or furniture. Enslaved individuals are considered to have no legal rights, and their children are born into the same state of enslavement as property of the master. It can be conclusively shown that chattel slavery has never been legal under international law, and internal laws in colonial territories claiming to legalize slavery were ineffective. 

It can be clearly demonstrated that slavery in Africa, until the colonial powers arrived, mainly resulted from captivity during war, punishment for crimes, and debt bondage. It can be convincingly shown that slaves in Africa resembled serfs in medieval Europe, who were obliged to live on their lord’s land and give homage, labour, and a share of the produce, or even like slaves in Rome, who could own real property (land) and even their own slaves. Additionally, slaves in these times had legal rights. The key point is that slaves in Europe and Africa during medieval times were considered human. They were not dehumanized and regarded as chattel.  

The second argument from enslaver European territories is that slavery happened so long ago that everyone involved, including victims and perpetrators, has long since died. They also contend that descendants of enslavers should not be held responsible for their ancestors’ crimes. In English law, this idea is known as laches, a legal doctrine that can bar a claim if the plaintiff delays unreasonably in bringing it and if that delay harms the defendant. Essentially, it is a defense claiming that the claimant waited too long to act, and this delay has made the situation worse for the defendant. The European enslavers argue that the call for reparations has come too late. In fact, there has always been resistance from enslaved people and calls for reparations. Every effort, before or after Emancipation in 1834/1838, whether through individual or group revolts, aimed at securing reparations.

The Maroon Wars of Jamaica (1728-1740), the King Court uprising in Antigua (1736), the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804), the Barbados Riot of 1876, the 1930s Labour Riots across the English-speaking Caribbean, the arguments and philosophies of Pan-Africanists such as W.E.B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey, the Rastafarian strong support for repatriation to Africa, and the Caricom Reparations Commission’s demand for justice all reflect a growing call for reparations and return to Africa to improve people’s economic, developmental, and cultural conditions. The call for reparations occurred during and after slavery. In any case, under English law, a person’s descendants—such as an executor or administrator—can act on their behalf after death. Under English law, the descendants of a person or people can seek compensation for wrongs done to the deceased person(s). 

Another argument advanced by colonialist sympathizers, including some from the Black community, is that African chiefs and kings collaborated during transatlantic slavery. There were many Jews who collaborated with the German Nazis during World War II, but that did not prevent reparations from being paid to the Jews. Throughout history, there have always been individuals who sided with oppressors for money and selfish gain. Some people cannot resist betraying others for profit. The fact that European enslavers beguiled and coerced others into supporting their evil scheme is not a reason to absolve them of paying reparations. 

Caribbean historians and researchers are currently documenting the basis of the factual, moral, and legal claim against European enslavers. To this end, slavery and the slave trade were crimes against humanity. One of the more critical UN conferences on racism held in Durban, South Africa in 2001 provided a classic description of the effects of slavery and the slave trade:

We acknowledge that slavery and the slave trade, including the transatlantic slave

trade, were appalling tragedies in the history of humanity not only because of their abhorrent

barbarism but also in terms of their magnitude, organized nature and especially their negation of the essence of the victims, and further acknowledge that slavery and the slave trade are a crime against humanity and should always have been so…

The modern definition of a crime against humanity is set out in Article 7 of the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. “Crime against humanity” refers to a series of acts committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack. One of the crimes listed as a crime against humanity is enslavement. For the Rome Stature, “enslavement” means the exercise of any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership over a person and includes the exercise of such power in the course of trafficking in persons, in particular women and children. (This writer abhors the term “right of ownership over a person” suggesting as it does that one human being can own another; the term should be “claimed right of ownership…”). UN General Assembly resolution 2391 (XXIII) of November 26, 1968: Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity confirms that there are no statutes of limitations on crimes against humanity.

Reparations for slavery might not happen in my lifetime or yours, but they will come. I am sure of that. There is a growing global movement for reparations. In September 2023, the Government of Ghana held an international reparations conference, themed ‘On building a united front to advance the cause of justice and reparations to Africans’. After the Ghana conference, the African Union announced its theme for 2025 as: “Justice for Africans and people of African descent through reparations.” On December 17, 2024, the United Nations General Assembly officially adopted a resolution to establish a second International Decade for People of African Descent, which will run from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2034. This Second International Decade will focus on ‘People of African descent: Recognition, Justice, and Development’ and is an opportunity for everyone to take concrete steps to confront the legacies of slavery and colonialism, deliver reparatory justice, and secure full human rights and freedoms for people of African descent worldwide. 

We will prevail. This is a reality. Justice for our ancestors!

Dr. Lenworth Johnson 

22 October 2025

About Dr. Lenworth W. Johnson:

Dr. Lenworth Johnson is a chartered accountant and an attorney-at-law, as well as a former member of the Senate, the Upper House of Parliament in Antigua and Barbuda. In 2024, he graduated from the University of the West Indies with the degree of Doctor of Education. Dr. Johnson is a member of the Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Commission.