If you were to ask most white Britons whether reparation should be paid for the injustices of slavery most would say no, yet if you asked most black Britons the same question you would receive a resounding yes. How can it be that our community is so divided on this issue. What is it that black Britons know that white Britain do not. The only real way to reach concensus on this issue is to look at the impact slavery has had on the black population today not just in Britain but in European countries and America.
Black people are still suffering the effects of slavery today. Our society discriminates based on colour in its recruitment processes whether it’s for a shop floor worker, supervisor, middle management or the board room. There are many layers in our society where black people are under represented or if you like there are doors that remain closed. Some black people through persistence and tenacity do secure lucrative sought after positions but are often undermined and have their abilities questioned by colleagues and managerment even after rigorous auditions and testing.
Racism permeates through our society on every level. The Macpherson report bears this out quite clearly.
Although there were many at the time who opposed slavery and considered it immoral, those who proposed the bill and who had vested interest in plantations and the forced labour of Africans claimed blacks were an inferior subspecies and that the white man had a duty to enslave and civilise them. This propaganda coupled with other stereotyped beliefs has never entirely disappeared and lies at the heart of the discrimination and predjudice experienced by the black populous today.
The belief that reparation should be made is not in itself an accusation or acceptance of blame. It is however a matter of historical record that the British government by a act of Parliament passed a law, that gained Royal ascent, to transport slaves from west Africa to be used has forced labour on plantations in the Caribbean and the Americas, the profits of which were then shared between the wealthy politicians who drafted the bill and financed the expeditions and the Monarchs who approved it.
We will not be able to rid our society of its prejudices until we acknowledge the guilt of the past.
When reparation is made we can move on from what has been an unequal society, where discrimination predjudices and exclusivity have been effectivley used to prevent a section of our community from sharing in and playing a full and equal role, to one where people are judged by their skills, abilities, personalities and potential.
At this point in history only by paying reparation can we adequately prosecute the immorality of the past. The scale of the violation endured as well as the after effects felt today cannot be allowed to go unanswered in our modern society.
A Black Perspective 