Essays & Books on Africa Reparations

essays

“The African Holocaust: Should Europe Pay Reparations to Africa for Colonialism and Slavery?” – Legal analysis on moral, historical, and practicalities of reparations from Europeans. wikipedia.org+14scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu+14amazon.com+14 – Link: Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

“The Case for Reparations” (Resilience, 2018) – Draws on Frantz Fanon to argue wealth extraction from Africa underpinned Western prosperity. scholarship.law.vanderbilt.eduresilience.orgen.wikipedia.org – Link: resilience.org

“Reparations as Philanthropy: Radically Rethinking ‘Giving’ in Africa” (Le Monde, 2022)
– Illustrates $97 trillion in unpaid labor, reframes reparations as restorative giving. resilience.orglemonde.fr

“Understanding Pan‑Africanist struggles for global slavery and colonialism reparations” (Johannesburg Review of Books, 2021) – Highlights disparities between enslaver compensation versus African silence on reparations theafricareport.com+10johannesburgreviewofbooks.com+10reuters.com+10

“Call for reparations: Will Africa’s oppressive regimes be left out?” (The Africa Report, Nov 2023) – Debates ethics of reparations amid undemocratic governments theafricareport.com+1theguardian.com+1

“Our struggle for reparations: Recognitions, apologies and other short stories” (This Is Africa)
– Defines reparations as recognition, apology, and material repair thisisafrica.me

“NEPAD and Reparations” (ZNetwork) – Suggests reparations beyond cash: debt cancellation, tech transfer, social infrastructure haymarketbooks.org+15znetwork.org+15vanityfair.com+15

“Why the West is morally bound to offer reparations for slavery” (CARICOM Reparations Commission) – Covers truth commissions, apologies, and moral duty of former colonizers reuters.com+4caricomreparations.org+4theafricareport.com+4

“Europe could find it’s self-interest to compensate Africa for slavery” (The Guardian, Feb 2025)
– Argues reparations align with Europe’s geopolitical strategies theguardian.com

“African leaders to push for slavery reparations despite resistance” (Reuters, Feb 2025)
– Details AU’s multi-faceted reparations push: financial, land, cultural restitution reuters.com

AP News: “At UN, African leaders… called for reparations” (Sep 2023) – Highlights Ghana’s leadership and calls for reparations in global institutions apnews.com+1theafricareport.com+1

“Reconsidering Reparations: Why Climate Justice and Constructive Politics Are Needed” (Táíwò, 2025) – Merges reparations with climate justice; calls for forward-looking reparative structures haymarketbooks.org+1amazon.com+1

Books

How Europe Underdeveloped AfricaWalter Rodney (1972) Landmark critique of colonial exploitation as root of Africa’s developmental stagnation theafricareport.com+15en.wikipedia.org+15en.wikipedia.org+15

Reconsidering Reparations Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò (2025) Argues for reparations as forward-building justice, connected to climate equity

Secure the Base: Making Africa Visible in the Globe Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o (2016)Critiques colonial economics and calls for African narratives and institutional sovereignty

The Hearts of Darkness Milton Allimadi (2003)Exposes racist Western media depictions that justified colonial extraction

Decolonizing Wealth Edgar Villanueva (2018, 2nd ed. 2021) Connects philanthropy to reparative justice, advocating for resource justice

Race Against Time: Searching for Hope in AIDS‑Ravaged Africa Stephen Lewis (2005)Calls international financial bodies to fund African development as a form of reparative justice

Summary

  • Many essays emphasize the enormous economic theft from Africa—$97 trillion in lost labor, land, and resources.

  • Scholars advocate for multi-dimensional reparations: financial compensation, debt forgiveness, apologies, cultural restitution, infrastructure investments, and climate justice.

  • Legal and mechanism-focused essays show how reparations could be structured and delivered.

  • Pan-African and geopolitical dimensions tie reparations to African unity and global power shifts.

  • Books offer in-depth theories supporting reparations as part of structural transformation and sovereignty.