Intellectuals and activists have long demanded reparations for the horrors of slavery and other colonial abuses. For Small Island Developing States, these demands appear particularly urgent as intensifying climate-related shocks compound existing injustices. In this episode, Emily and Matt ask whether questions of repair and recompense can no longer be avoided by powerful actors. If so, what could such a dialogue look like, how might it shape political and policy agendas, and can it be harnessed to support greater climate justice?

We hear from Gabrielle Hemmings, a Jamaican reparations activist in “Island Voices”. We then move on to an extended panel discussion in “The Big Picture” with three eminent experts: Verene Shepherd, Professor Emerita at the University of the West Indies and erstwhile Director of its Centre for Reparation Research, outgoing Chair (and current Vice Chair) of the UN Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and Vice-Chair of the CARICOM Reparations Commission; Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University and author of Reconsidering Reparations; and Emma Christopher, Associate Professor of History at the University of New South Wales, and author of Slave Ship Sailors and Their Cargoes and Many Middle Passages.

Resources:

• Programme page | Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI)
• CHOGM Samoa 2024 Communiqué | Leaders' Statement and Declarations on 'One Resilient Common Future'
• CARICOM Reparations Commission | Ten Point Plan
• Verene’s UWI Profile listing many of her books | Verene A. Shepherd
• Verene and Gabrielle’s recent book | Introduction to Reparation for Secondary Schools
• Verene’s recent UNESCO piece | The Caribbean Calls for Restorative Justice
• Verene’s 2019 Keynote Address | Capitalism and Slavery as a Handbook for Reparations
• Femi’s website with links to his writing | Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò
• A virtual public lecture by Femi | Reconsidering Reparations
• Emma’s UNSW profile with links to her writing | Emma Christopher
• Emma’s Documentary | They Are We

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