Imperialism in Africa: Resistance, Restitution and Reparations

Imperialism in Africa: Resistance, Restitution and Reparations
Adekeye Adebajo
Senior Research Fellow, Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria
Cristina Roldão
Professora da Escola Superior de Educação - Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal, Portugal, e investigadora do CIES-IUL
Stephen Small
Director of the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues and Professor of African American Studies, UC Berkeley
Moderator: Jelani Nelson
Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, UC Berkeley
After slavery in the Americas was legally abolished by European nations in the 19th century, they massively expanded their intrusion into Africa into the 20th century, looking for new avenues for economic exploitation, political domination and social subordination. The Suez Canal in Egypt, gold and diamonds in southern Africa, rubber, palm oil and ivory in West and Central Africa are just some of the resources that produced massive amounts of wealth for European elites, and millions of jobs for working class men and women across European nations. This panel focuses on reparations and restitution for imperialism in Africa, thus expanding the debates on reparations, which thus far have largely focused on the enslavement of Africans in the Americas.
The event also foregrounds knowledge creation by Africans - and Black people across the diaspora - who have, over many generations, created more accurate, comprehensive and inclusive accounts of imperialism than those produced by white scholars. This knowledge is vital to shaping a path forwards towards reparations.
Sponsored by: Institute for the Study of Societal Issues
Co-sponsored by: Center for African Studies, Othering & Belonging Institute
April 20, 2023