ABSTRACT
This opening chapter traces back to the histories and memories of slavery to uncover the structural dehumanization perpetuated by relevant institutions established throughout the 15th–19th centuries at a transnational level. It examines how the legacies of these histories continue to sustain systems of injustice in the present day. In this process, it also highlights the limitations of traditional slavery research, which often portrays the enslaved as “objects” documented in enslavers’ records as mere properties to be bought, used, and sold. Instead, this chapter advances an innovative approach to historically grounded interdisciplinary analyses of human experiences during transatlantic slavery. In doing so, it provides a space for voices seldom heard in academia, including the enslaved, their descendants, and those oppressed by structural racism. By attending to the voices of the enslaved and oppressed, it outlines the systemic violence of slavery and the legitimacy of reparations.
The chapter concludes that history can bridge the past and present in ways that reparations can inform structural justice and social conditions, paving the way for a better future for all.
