US reparations activist to deliver Grenada’s inaugural public lecture on reparations
A veteran reparations and Black political activist in the United States will this week deliver the inaugural lecture on reparations by the Grenada National Reparations Commission (GNRC).
The New York-based Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW), a Black group in the US, said on Sunday that Dr. Ron Daniels, IBW’s president and convener of the US National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC), will address the virtual meeting on Wednesday, May 19, at 7:00 p.m.
Dr. Daniels told Caribbean Life that he was delighted to accept GNRC’s invitation.
“I am especially honored to accept the invitation, given my engagement with the People’s Revolutionary Government of Grenada, via the National Black Independent Political Party, which brought a large delegation to Grenada for ‘All Heroes Day’ at the height of the revolution,” he said.
IBW said the theme of the public lecture is “Malcolm, Maurice and the Movement for Reparations in Grenada.”
It said the purpose of the event is to “connect the struggle for reparations to the revolutionary struggle for Black liberation – a struggle that was led by two of Grenada’s revolutionary sons, Malcolm X, whose mother was born in Grenada, and former Prime Minister of Grenada, the late Maurice Bishop.
IBW noted that May 19 is also the birthday of Malcolm X.
“This is an important moment for Grenada and the Caribbean region,” Ambassador Arley Gill, GNRC’s chairman.
“The fight for reparations for slavery and the legacy of slavery which is still being felt here in Grenada and across the African diaspora is long overdue,” he added.
Dr. Nicole Phillip-Dowe, another GNRC commissioner, said: “I believe the time has come to amplify and elevate this very important issue here in Grenada.
“Serious conversations on slavery and the effects of slavery on our citizens are still very uncomfortable conversations for many people in our society,” she added.
IBW said Dr. Damian Greaves, a professor at St. George’s University and GNRC’s advisor, will moderate the public lecture.
Closing remarks will be delivered by Earl Bousquet, veteran St. Lucian journalist and chairman of the St. Lucia National Reparation Committee, IBW said.
It said GNRC, part of the Caribbean Reparations Commission (CRC), comprises distinguished scholars and civil and human rights activists “committed to advancing the quest for reparations for people of African descent in Grenada and throughout the Caribbean region.”
To participate in the event, please register at: https://ibw21.org/lecture/. The event will also be streamed live on Facebook and on You Tube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfPlQU1tteE
