Sir Ronald Sanders to Deliver St Paul’s 190th Anniversary Lecture in New York

Sir Ronald Sanders will deliver a major lecture on reparations, racism and institutional responsibility as part of the 190th anniversary celebrations of St Paul’s Episcopal Church in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York.

The lecture, titled “Faith That Repairs: Reparations, Responsibility and the Work of Hope,” will take place on Saturday, September 12, 2026.

Sir Ronald is expected to examine how racism was deliberately constructed to justify the enslavement of Africans and colonial exploitation, while exploring the lasting economic and social consequences of those systems.

The location of the anniversary lecture holds particular historical significance. St Paul’s was founded in 1836 in a section of Flatbush where slavery was once deeply entrenched. The remains of enslaved and formerly enslaved Africans are located in the community’s historic African Burial Ground.

During the lecture, Sir Ronald will argue that slavery was more than an act of cruelty from a distant period. He will describe it as an organised economic and racial system that was protected by governments, enforced through laws and financed by banks, merchants and insurance companies.

Although the legal ownership of human beings eventually ended, Sir Ronald will contend that the racial inequalities and institutional advantages created by slavery did not disappear with emancipation.

The lecture will also seek to dispel misconceptions surrounding the campaign for reparations.

Sir Ronald is expected to emphasise that reparations should not be regarded as revenge or charity, and that present generations are not being accused of personal responsibility for the actions of their ancestors.

Instead, the case is based on the responsibility of states and institutions that inherited wealth, property, authority and other advantages from slavery and colonialism to participate in repairing the continuing damage.

“Reparations is the point at which remembrance accepts responsibility, and responsibility becomes repair,” the lecture declares.

Drawing on Caribbean and American history, Christian teachings and recent action by the United Nations, Sir Ronald will examine the roles of governments, churches, universities, banks, insurers and other institutions.

He will advocate practical forms of reparatory justice, including increased investment in education and healthcare, development financing, debt relief, cultural restoration and greater public access to historical records.

The central message of the lecture is that racism created injuries that have endured across generations, remembrance alone cannot repair those injuries, and hope must be transformed into meaningful action.

Sir Ronald is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States. He is also Chancellor of the University of Guyana, a writer and a longstanding advocate for reparations for slavery and colonial exploitation.