The Solidarity of Self-Interest.(reparations for African Americans in light of United Nations World Conference Against Racism)(Brief Article)

For nearly a decade, U.S. congressman John Conyers Jr. has led a lonely crusade, pressing Congress to consider the case for reparations for black Americans. For most of that time his efforts have been utterly dismissible--as quixotic as the exertions of a delusional soldier re- fighting a long lost war. But suddenly the reparations issue, once considered DOA, has risen from the ashes of inconsequence, touching off a frenzy of activity--both domestically and abroad.

At a regional meeting in Senegal in January, African delegates to the upcoming United Nations World Conference Against Racism demanded "adequate reparation" for slavery and colonialism. (Delegates were significantly less eager, it must be pointed out, to condemn African involvement in both current and historical slavery.) Earlier this month a U.N. subcommission on human rights adopted a resolution urging recognition and "reparation" for "massive and flagrant violations of human rights" committed during slavery and the colonial period. Meanwhile, blacks in many Latin American countries and the Caribbean have seized on the issue. "We need a global recognition that historical injustices require an apology from the world," says Barbados Education Minister Mia Mottley.

While the quest for historical closure has not yet resulted in a coherent or consistent approach, it has convinced reparations advocates that their moment has arrived. They point to, among other things, the willingness of governments and private institutions to make partial amends to the victims of apartheid, to survivors of the Holocaust and to Japanese-Americans imprisoned during World War II.

Even political moderates are grappling with the question. "I believe the argument for reparations is morally and legally compelling," declared National Urban League president Hugh Price at his organization's annual convention in July. But Price went on to point out that the debate "will take years to play out" and that no "reparation check" would soon be forthcoming.

With the crusade gaining momentum worldwide, such cautionary notes are often ignored. It's also easy to lose sight of the fact that though the African and African-American advocates are using many of the same words, they are, in large measure, talking about fundamentally different things. Certainly both groups are seeking an apology--an acknowledgment that the slave trade and colonialism were morally wrong and continue to have consequences. But the Africans are much less interested in "reparations" than in getting commitments for foreign investment, debt cancellation and development assistance. Their immediate priority is an ambitious package of proposals called the New African Initiative. That initiative is to be the cornerstone of an emerging African Union, fostering economic recovery and political reform. As N. Barney Pityana, ...