ARM Birmingham Declaration

About this item

The ARM Birmingham Declaration is a document produced by the Africa Reparations Movement (UK) following a conference held in Birmingham on December 11, 1993. It outlines the group's collective demand for reparations to African people in Britain and across the diaspora, recognizing the lasting damage caused by slavery, colonialism, and neo-colonialism. This declaration frames reparations as a moral and legal imperative to address historical injustices and their ongoing impact.

Key points:
– The declaration was created by people of African origin residing in Britain during the 1993 Birmingham Reparations Conference.
– It references the Abuja Proclamation and a call from the Organisation of African Unity for reparations committees.
– The document acknowledges the deep and continuing harm caused by European enslavement, colonialism, and neo-colonialism.
– It asserts that African peoples have a just claim for compensation due to the destruction of culture, civilization, and significant advances in knowledge.
– The declaration emphasizes the genocidal scale of violence against African people and its persistent effects on Africa and its diaspora.

This declaration connects closely to Black British political activism around reparations in the early 1990s, a period when activists like Bernie Grant advocated for acknowledgement and redress of historical racial injustices. It reflects wider international efforts, including those led by the Organisation of African Unity, linking grassroots campaigns in the UK to global movements demanding reparative justice for African peoples. The document also resonates with themes central to Black British anti-racism and political organizing.

Source note: The OCR transcript contains some minor typographical errors and incomplete phrases, which have been carefully interpreted to convey the document's intent without adding unverified content.