Reparations

Reparations Now!: D12’s Position From Decades of Reparations Struggle

Since 1989, for over three decades, the December 12th Movement (D12) has been actively engaged in the fight for reparations for descendants of enslaved Africans in the United States and worldwide, addressing the ongoing violations of our human rights.

Our work is inspired by Malcolm X, who viewed the struggle of African Americans in the United States as part of a larger global fight for human dignity—one that must be addressed on an international level. Following Malcolm’s lead, our reparations work links the enslavement of African peoples to the colonization of the African continent. As a result of slavery and colonialism, African peoples have been dispersed and divided by national boundaries. Nevertheless, our struggle remains fundamentally Pan-African, with the fight for reparations uniting African people in a revolutionary battle against the West and its exploitative foundations.

In 1993, through our international work at the United Nations, we were part of the call for a World Conference Against Racism. exercising  Black Nationalism and self-determination, we committed to eight years of grassroots organizing, culminating in a delegation of 400 people attending the Durban, South Africa, conference in 2001.

2001 United Nations World Conference Against Racism

D12 organized 400 delegates to ensure that three critical points were included in the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA):

  1. Slavery was a crime against humanity.
  2. The roots of the transatlantic slave trade were economic.
  3. Reparations are owed to descendants of enslaved Africans.

D12 played a pivotal role in this significant Pan-African event, which established reparations as a global issue. The Durban conference marked a historic defeat for the United States and other Western nations, while providing a framework for the continued fight for reparations.

National Reparations Rally & Class Action Lawsuit

Following the Durban Conference, in 2002, D12 and the National Black United Front (NBUF) organized the first national reparations rally in Washington, D.C., bringing the demand for reparations to the forefront and highlighting the United States’ ongoing denial of its centuries-old debt.

In the same year, D12 provided legal counsel and organizational support for a class action lawsuit against 17 corporations—including Aetna, JP Morgan, and Fleet CSX—that directly profited from the trade, exploitation, and free labor of Africans in the United States. This legal action underscored the United States’ denial of its history and the slave trade as the foundation of its economic development, reinforcing our demand for reparations and addressing the collective economic conditions of Black communities.

CARICOM Reparations Commission

Despite the United States’ withdrawal from the 2009 Durban Review Conference, D12 continued to advocate for the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. Demonstrating further Pan-African unity, D12 collaborated with The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), an intergovernmental organization, to help establish their Reparations Commission in 2013 and its 10-point plan.

Executive Order for Reparations

In 2020, after Joe Biden credited Black voters with securing his election victory, he pledged to support the Black community. D12 immediately tested this promise by calling for an executive order to allocate a $50 billion down payment for reparations. This strategy remains the most viable national approach, as legislative efforts have consistently failed to move beyond rhetoric. We stand firm on the need for an executive order that cannot be diluted by endless commissions or studies. An executive order for health care breaks the ice and begins a process of repair that establishes a collective approach that addresses the most vital needs of our community.

Summary of Demands

  • Reparations for the centuries-long debt owed by the federal government.
  • A $50 billion down payment to establish state-of-the-art healthcare facilities owned and controlled by Black communities as an initial measure.
  • Regular reparations payments to address the historical and ongoing damages caused by slavery and systemic racism, including in areas such as housing, employment, mass incarceration, and education.
  • Unity in the rejection of calls for reparations that seek to divide African people. We are the victims of a collective crime, not based on qualified lineages. Therefore, the repair must be collective, not individuals receiving a check in the mailbox.

Durban 400 Documentary

Culture as a Weapon

Sistas’ Place opened on September 23, 1995, the born date of revolutionary musician John Coltrane. Its founder, Viola Plummer, the late chairperson of the December 12th Movement, envisioned it being a place where Black people could gather and feel free. Over its 30 years, Sistas’ Place has fulfilled that vision – as a jazz unicorn, a coffee shop, a community center, a cultural gathering place, and a liberated zone in the People’s Republic of Brooklyn. Our stage has been graced with jazz masters and spoken word virtuosos. The overriding sentiment artists express about performing at Sistas’ Place is that it feels like “home.” The give and take between the artists and the audience is electric.

The Sistas’ Place theme, “Culture as a Weapon,” reflects our awareness of the connection between Black culture and Black people’s struggle for human rights and liberation in the U.S. and internationally. The mantra is inspired by the great African leader and thinker Amilcar Cabral who articulated that culture is an essential form of resistance by oppressed people and insurance of their survival. At Sistas’ Place, we bring to our community the politics of culture in all its forms


International

The December 12th Movement International Secretariat has observer status with the African Union, acquired with the Organization of African Unity in the late 90’s. Our significant international work has involved holding a massive relief drive for flood victims in Mozambique, fighting against sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe, and annual African Liberation Day events.

December 12th Movement International Secretariat, a non governmental organization (NGO) with consultative status in the United Nations Economic and Social Council, has participated since 19in the, then Commission on Human Rights now Human Rights Council since 1989, representing 40 million Africans in the United States. The Secretariat has established firm ties and alliances with nations and international organizations around the world. Our consistent and persistent work has resulted in the pivotal hearings on racism and summary executions in the United States.

Under the slogan “It’s Our Blood Down There,” December 12th organized the community to raise money to purchase water for the earthquake victims in Haiti.