International Black Reparations Summit on the atlantic slave trade

The International Black Reparations Summit was hosted by New York City in early April. Participating nations included CARICOM (representing the Caribbean), France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, South America, and the U.S. Many high-profile invitees attended including U.S. activists Jesse Jackson of PUSH and Danny Glover, African-American actor. They were among those representing the fields of academics, law, politics, activism, and history.

Many aggrieved nations have been seeking reparations for the descendants of African slaves transported along the Atlantic corridor. Martinique, for example, filed for reparations from France in 2005 for a sum of 200 billion Euros to compensate for the damage Martinique slave descendants suffered as a result of displacement from their homeland.

Haiti is a startling example of the harm done because of French sugarcane plantation owners, who demanded compensation for their losses as a result of the Haitian slave revolt. France extracted $21 billion USD (today's valuation) from Haiti, threatening and carrying out violence at times when payments were missed. It took Haiti from 1825 to 1946 to pay off the ransom. The Conseil Representatif des Association Noires de France has called for the $21 billion to be paid back.

Other nations such as Guyana, Antigua & Barbuda, Jamaica, and Barbados have all requested various European countries to pay reparations for their part in the Atlantic slave trade. Barbados is spearheading the reparations movement with the formation of a Reparations Task Force to sustain ". . . momentum for reparations."

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