ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the refusal of those Western Europeans who were involved in the slave trade to make reparations for the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade and chattel slavery is another instance of institutional racism where hurdles are unwittingly raised, and eyes averted to refuse access to justice for reparations for Africans, Caribbeans and Afro-Caribbeans in the Diaspora. It also argues that whilst Britain used legislation to abolish the slave trade and slavery, it has not used legislation to abolish institutional racism which now requires reparative justice. The chapter considers the moral, legal and political case for reparations claims for this legacy. It suggests that the utility in reparations is that it could help to heal the social divide – it could atone for 'original sin' according to Curtis. The chapter contends that reparations is for the continuing legacy of the slave trade and that is institutional racism.
