The Special Collections Book of the Week this week is:

Reparations to Africa by Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann.

What is the just measure of Western obligations to Africa? More than 200 years after the abolition of the slave trade in the United States and Great Britain, the question remain salient. Calls for reparations for the evils of slavery, as well as for past colonial and current economic and political abuses, come from across Africa and the African diaspora.

Human rights scholar Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann examines these calls for redress in ‘Reparations to Africa’. Her study analyzes the reparations movement from the perspectives of law, philosophy, political science, and sociology. While acknowledging the brutal background of the slave trade and colonialism, and the mistreatment of the peoples of Africa, Howard-Hassmann finds that the complexity of this history, along with facts of the contemporary situation, weakens the case for financial compensation, although she does recommend acknowledgment of, and apologies for, some actions. The book not only provides a bold reckoning of the root causes, both internal and external, of African underdevelopment and unrest but also suggests alternative means for restorative justice and examines the role that institutions such as the International Criminal Court can play.

By including the voices of 74 African academics, diplomats, and activists who were interviewed, ‘Reparations to Africa’ makes a valuable contribution to the reparations debate. In an emotionally and politically charged postcolonial environment, this book serves as a judicious guide to the search for economic justice for Africans today and into the future.

Access: https://univofpretoria.on.worldcat.org/oclc/183261798

This book is available at Special Collections, housed on level 5 of the Merensky 2 Library, and is part of our Africana (ZA) Collection.

The Special Collections unit of the Department of Library Services plays a stewardship role in the acquisition and preservation of the Library's rare and valuable information resources, making them accessible to students, staff and researchers, as well as safeguarding them for future generations