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Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Phd in Law THE UNIVERSITY OF HULL Repairing the Legacies of Transatlantic Slavery Thesis submitted for the Degree of PhD in Law University of Hull by David Wilkins, MA, BA July 2013 Abstract Recent decades have seen the emergence of calls for financial reparations to African Americans, Caribbean nations and Africa. These claims have sought to utilise legal principles of torts and unjust enrichment to create a causal chain between the history of transatlantic slavery, via colonialism and segregation, to present-day national and international racial inequality. This thesis argues that such conceptualisations of reparations oversimplify the history and legacy of transatlantic slavery, and therefore what is required to repair that history and legacy. The foremost legacy is attitudinal and relational. Modern anti-black racism was developed to justify the institutionalisation of slavery in the New World by Europeans. Racism in turn has, both knowingly and unknowingly, shaped the construction of historical memory and the development of national and international European identity. These identities have in turn shaped the relationships between Europeans and Africans, leading to present-day injustice and racial inequality. To overcome the socioeconomic legacies of transatlantic slavery, reparation must prioritise relational and attitudinal repair. This thesis utilises the theories of restorative justice, and its implementation in truth and reconciliation processes, to argue that museums and schools, by broadening the history they present to include previously suppressed events and community perspectives, can potentially contribute to relational repair at a national level in Britain and the US, and internationally via projects such as UNESCO’s Slave Route Project. This thesis argues that the history of transatlantic slavery and its legacies of relational harm and socioeconomic inequality cannot be isolated or fully understood without a wider historical and present-day contextualisation of inequalities and prejudices, including class. This thesis, therefore, ties the history and legacy of transatlantic slavery firmly into wider national and international history and underlines how confronting historical injustice and its legacy is vital to the creation of a fair and just future. Acknowledgments There are many people without whose help I would not have completed this thesis. Firstly, there are those who gave time generously to meet me and be interviewed as part of my research, in Britain, the US, Canada and South Africa. In Britain, Angelina Osbourne; Arthur Torrington; Carl Hylton; Clare Parsons; David Spence Michaela Alfred-Kamara; Paul Khan, Richard Benjamin, Stephen Carl-Lokko, Angela Robinson and Vikky Evans-Hubbard; Ruth Fisher and Anna Salaman; Suzanne Schwarz; Esther Lockwood; Esther Stanford; John McAleer; Joseph Harker; Justina Oraka; Vanessa Salter; Yvette Fox. In the US, Bill Obrochta; Bill White; Hari Jones; Joanne Martin and Diane Swann-Right; Kristin Gallas; Leni Sorenson; Richard Rabinowitz; Dina Bailey, Charles Davies, Richard Cooper, Christopher Miller and Katie Johnson; Waite Rawls, John Coski and Kelly Hancock. Internationally, Blaise Tchikaya; Hilary Beckles; Maria Elisa Velazquez; Myriam Cottias; Richard Freedman, Wayne Alexander, Paul Lovejoy, Toyin Falola, Karolyn Smartz-Frost and Jeff Gunn. Secondly there are those who have met with me to discuss my work and who have offered me advice and encouragement. Thanks must go to James Walvin, David Blight, Marcus Wood, Stephanie Smallwood, Yaw Brendwa-Mensha, Ali Moussa Iye, Chandler Saint and Yuen Chochenec. Special thanks must David and Lieu Lewis and Seth, friends who kindly hosted me in Richmond, VA, showed me historic sites and drove me to see museums and for interviews. I also owe a great deal of thanks to everyone at WISE – an institute that encourages not just learning, but an environment of friendship and support. Special mention must go to Nick Evans and David Richardson, who supervised my MA, which led me to this thesis. Stacey Sommerdyk with whom I shared an office for a few years offered both invaluable advice and support. Kate Hodgson, Fillipa Ribeiro da Silva, Judith Spicksley, Douglas Hamilton, Mike Turner, Mick Wilkinson, Richard Burchill and Beki Bloomfield all offered interest and encouragement. Special thanks must go to both of my supervisors, Joel Quirk and Gerry Johnstone who have challenged, encouraged, supported and advised me in equal measure during these past years. Finally, I must give special thanks to my family and friends who have supported me during the challenges of this PhD by reading drafts and offering criticism, and during the struggles of my mother’s illness and loss. Special thanks to John, Lucy, Kate and Anna Wilkins, to Matt Brabbs, Chris Dyson, Shelley King, Simon Hall, Gareth Evans, Dan Metcalf, Alexia Rodgers-Wright, Matt Ball, Katy Nunn, Stefan Ramsden, Annabel i Howe, David Jarvis, Jake Hird, Andrew Harding and others who have supported me and kept me going. ii For Mum iii Contents List of Acronyms ................................................................................................................ 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 4 Chapter One – Models of Repair ..................................................................................... 29 Chapter Two – Transatlantic Slavery and International Reparations: A Historiographical Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 66 Chapter Three – The 2007 Bicentenary of the Abolition of the British Slave Trade: A Reparative Moment? .................................................................................................... 120 Chapter Four – Confronting the Legacy of Slavery in the United States ...................... 171 Chapter Five – Transnational Reparatory Potential of Education and Commemoration ....................................................................................................................................... 226 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 263 Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 275 iv List of Acronyms AACWMM – African American Civil War Memorial and Museum ABGM – African Burial Ground Museum AFDC – Aid to Families with Dependent Children AFT – American Federation of Teachers AHA – American Historical Association ARM (UK) – African Reparations Movement, UK ASI – Anti-Slavery International ASPnet – (UNESCO) Associated Schools Project Network AU – African Union, formerly the OAU BMAG – Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery CETA - Comprehensive Education and Training Act of 1973 CPD – Continuing Professional Development DCMS – Department of Culture, Media and Sport DCFS – Department for Children, Schools and Families DFE – Department for Education DfES – Department for Education and Skills DfID – Department for International Development EURESCL Project – Slave Trade, Slavery Abolitions and their Legacies in European Histories and Identities Project GEP – Group of Eminent Persons (established by the AU in 1992 to develop a case for reparations for Africa) HR40 –Title of a House of Representatives Bill proposed by Congressman John Conyers to establish a ‘Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans.’ HLF – Heritage Lottery Fund HMRC – Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs HMSO – Her Majesty’s Stationary Office 1 HO – Home Office IPPR – Institute for Public Policy Research IPUP – Institute for the Public Understand of the Past ISM – International Slavery Museum KKK – Klu Klux Klan LSS – London Sugar and Slavery gallery MDGs – Millennium Development Goals MiD – Museum in Docklands MMM – Merseyside Maritime Museum MoC – Museum of the Confederacy MP – Member of Parliament N’CoBRA – National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America NAACP – National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People NCHS – National Center for History in the Schools NEH – National Endowment for the Humanities NGBWM – National Great Blacks in Wax Museum NGOs – Non-Governmental Organisations NMAAHC – National Museum of African American History and Culture NMM – National Maritime Museum NPS – National Parks Service OAU – Organisation of African Unity, AU since 2001 OECD – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Ofsted – Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills’ OIEAHC – Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture PM – Prime Minister QC – Queen’s Counsel QCA – Qualifications and Curriculum Authority 2 RAS – Royal Society for the encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce RoV – Rendezvous of Victory RRAA 2000 – Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 SCV – Sons of Confederate Veterans T.E.A.C.H – Teaching Emotional and Controversial Histories, a report by the Historical Association TAH – Teaching American History Program TCA – Truth Commission for Africa TST Project – (UNESCO ASPnet) Transatlantic Slave Trade Education Project TUC – Trades Union Congress UDC – United Daughters of the Confederacy UK – United Kingdom UN – United Nations UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation URFC – Underground Railroad Freedom Centre US – United States USAID – United States Agency for International Development
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