A broader case for Reparations: beyond ADOS
First, I’d like to say that the plan set forward by CARICOM was made in 2013. I say that not only to highlight how such a bold plan brought by amazing scholars in the spirit of Pan African leaders such as Marcus Garvey predate the position of the ADOS movement. Before I address what I believe to be the failings of the ADOS movement as it stands, I want to define reparations in terms that can be used as the foundation of my argument. When I refer to reparations, I am talking about a comprehensive plan to not only repay descendants of slavery and Africans for Imperialism, theft of natural resources and art, and the kidnapping, rape, murder, and torture of my ancestors, but a larger plan to not only account for the modern-day ramifications of such events but an attempt to repay Africans in the diaspora for the modern-day effects of institutional racism, epigenetic trauma, and other negative consequences.
Reparations, first and foremost, are merely a first step at advancing towards equality and justice. Many have used linear paths of thinking when considering reparations; in my opinion, the linear thinking of the ADOS leader is an example of tired, uninspired vigor to yell at Black immigrants who achieve larger success in the States than some ADOS counterparts. However, the first and most prominent thing with the ADOS movement is it’s American Exceptionalist approach to racism. In a recent tweet, a founder of ADOS highlighted her ignorance by tweeting that slavery was “exclusive to ADOS”. The problem with this logic is that not only is that statement categorically false, but it shows ignorance, not only of Black people’s lack of education on Black countries and the creation of Black countries in the Caribbean and global south but completely ignores the root of any reparations call.
ADOS is primarily focused on the United States, almost in a weird fixation. Despite highlighting the start of slavery in the 1600s, the ADOS movement strictly avoids any talk in specific of the Trans Atlantic slave trade. Considering that the Caribbean was one of the largest places that Black people were transferred during slavery, as well as one of the port locations Europeans would travel to before the independent United States, it actually backfires against the main stronghold of her argument.
I’d like to say that this concept is new, but the rhetoric is common in many circles, especially among Black people in the United States. By looking at slavery as an institution of the United States(which in many cases, the United States had the longest pathway to freedom from slavery), it negates nearly 200 years of the early United States as a British colony, not dissimilar to Jamaica, Belize, Trinidad and Tobago, and many other countries once ruled by the British. By doing this, you not only erase nearly half of the history of slavery, as well as the history of many ADOS from communities in Louisiana and other areas that were previously owned by the Spanish and French. In essence, the ADOS movement not only weakens their argument by erasing the culture of an entire group of the ADOS community but surrenders the possibility of reparations for the actual people that may have enslaved their ancestors.
Aside from nitpicking some of ADOS’s curious history of the Slave Trade and oppression of Black people, many supporters of the ADOS movement share a sentiment I’ve heard in many discussions: Black immigrants hate Black Americans and don’t care about their well-being. While this couldn’t be further from the truth, there is disdain from many immigrants toward Black Americans for multiple reasons; predominantly, a lack of effort in learning Black history OUTSIDE the United States, as well as a fundamental disconnect from immigrants who grew up with the representation that the ADOS movement yearns for. Jamaicans learn about figures such as Queen Nanny of the Maroons, an Ashanti woman often believed to be Ashanti royalty who led a rebellion against the British and ran an independent town in Jamaica decades before the Revolutionary war occurred in what would become the United States. Jamaicans also have Boukman, a Muslim cleric in Africa Kidnapped and taken to Jamaica before he would eventually reach Haiti and play a role in the Haitian Revolution. Haitians might argue the influence of Boukman on the revolution, but they can highlight figures such as Thomas-Alexander Dumas, a High ranking Black French General who once led the French military during the French Revolution, as well as Toussaint Louverture. Haitians can point to the fact that Dumas’ son would go on to repackage the stories of his father to a French audience through stories like The Three Musketeers and The Count of Montecristo, loosely based on the history of his father’s exile from the French military due to his racial background.
This main disconnect between Black Americans and their counterparts in the Diaspora is predominantly a result of a lack of history, often shielded by the white supremacist forces of the educational system in the United States. In the Caribbean or Africa, where you not only have a closer connection to mainland Africa due to oral histories and traditions, you also learn about the many Black figures who defied the standards set by a white ruling class in the United States and undermine a legacy of intellectual and artistic greatness in Black history predating and occurring simultaneously to the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade. Additionally, many people from Africa have urged people in the diaspora to return and learn about the history of the countries from which they were taken. Garvey was very clear in the importance of history, and not only would inspire leaders like Kwame Nkrumah, Malcolm X, and others, but focused on history as being a key part of learning yourself as an individual. As a result, many Black people across the Diaspora were raised under iterations of Garveyism and see Black Americans as lost souls, either too lazy to connect their history or merely existing as a more Europeanized African.
Despite the many examples of Black leaders who would come to the United States(such as Kwame Ture, and children of immigrants like Shirley Chisholm) that have massively improved the conditions of Black people in the United States, it is my belief that the 2013 findings of the CARICOM Committee on Reparations created a Ten Point Plan: Establishing a plan that would include canceling debts, A full formal apology, funding a Repatriation program for all of the modern diaspora, addressing concerns of education and healthcare, and more. One key difference between the CARICOM approach and the ADOS approach is the reach. ADOS merely seeks to grab money from the United States without addressing the clear signs of impact from other guilty parties in Europe, therefore limiting the scope of a reparations amount while addressing government loan programs for Black people.
While CARICOM has spread throughout the Caribbean community, it has yet been seen for Black Americans to champion a similar message. As a libertarian socialist, it is my opinion that any attempt of achieving justice should be international in reach and impact. Not only is an international coalition important, but the ability to transcend country limits is an important step to building larger solidarity and class consciousness across what becomes a significant percentage of the world.
While ADOS seeks to limit the availability of such programs, I see bridges that can be built across movements with proper organizing. Primarily, Black people can return to standing in solidarity with Puerto Ricans looking for a Sovereign country and can highlight the connection between the reparations the US should pay Puerto Ricans to a larger chain of Reparations from Spanish and other European colonies. Similarly, solidarity can be found amongst Chinese activists if they would consider the possibility of a reparations movement for the impact of the Opium Wars. There are many other connections that can be made across ethnic lines, but within the Black community, a united front would be a threat to white supremacy never seen before.
The Black Power movement would stem from outrage over the vicious murder of figures like Dr. Martin Luther King would create a larger cultural consciousness across the diaspora. While many civil rights cases would impact the United States, The United Kingdom would have the Mangrove Nine, activists who included members of the British Black Panthers. The British Black Panthers were originally a coalition of South Asian and Caribbean immigrants that had united around the Black power message in the United States and would impact British history similarly to other activists. However, a fragmenting has occurred; while there are rare occurrences of cultural connections (Often in music with artists like Koffee, Wizkid, Burna Boy, and Skepta among others) that would excite immigrants and make for amazing visuals and music, politically the diaspora has been more fragmented despite the power of the internet.
An international call to reparations is more than just a pipe dream, it has legal grounds and basis that could gain traction. If there was an international movement for reparations, it could be possible for lawyers across the diaspora to bring an unprecedented case for reparations to the International Court of Justice. The important distinction is that a legally binding reparations decision has the grounds to undo some of the harms caused by Imperialism, but can not only expand the size of the Reparations payment depending on circumstances but could actually help those in the ADOS community more than their current proposals. While Ms. Carnell’s inclinations to US-focused policies could be a result of her work for candidates like blue dog Democrat Robert Marion Berry and predecessor to Kamala Harris Barbara Boxer, it might also explain the disdain found in critics of the ADOS movement. Carnell’s staunch anti-immigration stance not only hurts the diaspora, who often attempt to spread Black history outside of slavery to Black people but inspired many things considered staples of Black American culture(Especially Rap music).
If ever there was a chance to make a case for reparations, the ADOS path not only sells short a large number of Black people Across the East coast that would be ineligible for proposed reparation payments as a result of having immigrant parents/grandparents but would limit the actual size of a reparations payment to prospective recipients. Any international coalition formed could ultimately lead to a larger reparations settlement as well as an opportunity to create robust mental healthcare under reparations that could provide a massive benefit to Black Americans as younger Black people learn to focus on issues addressing mental health, establishing boundaries, and creating communities which address mental health concerns often silenced by older generations.
While TikTok has many people highlight the cheaper cost of living in African countries, a repatriation plan similar to the CARICOM proposal could put the US in an ultimatum on housing policy, since the loss of music, sports, arts, and the many other talents and contributions of Black people could benefit countries across the diaspora as Garvey would’ve wanted. Ultimately, it is interesting to see the links of someone holding a somewhat contradictory stance; ADOS seeks to undermine racial discrimination/oppression while actively discriminating against the Caribbean and African immigrants and their children, who are often forgotten about in Black history.
