The Centre for Reparation Research (CRR) began operations in March 2017 but was officially launched publicly in October 2017. The CRR was created to promote, research, and engage in advocacy around the legacies of the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans, African enslavement, Asian indentureship, colonialism, and its legacies in the Caribbean, and to help bring justice and positive transformation to societies affected by these legacies.

As the CRR enters its eighth year, its commitment to research, knowledge creation, documentation and the dissemination of information to what has become a global reparatory justice movement could never be stronger. The CRR has continued, therefore, to support and contribute to the implementation of CARICOM’s Reparatory Justice Programme, which broadly seeks to foster public awareness around the lasting and adverse consequences of European invasion of indigenous peoples’ lands, African enslavement and colonialism in the Caribbean. The CRR also supports long-standing reparatory justice advocates, including indigenous peoples, Rastafari, civil society groups, individual academics, politicians, and national reparation committees/councils/advisory groups locally, regionally, and internationally. The Centre has embraced an additional responsibility–working with departments, institutes, schools, centres, units and sites at The UWI and other educational institutions, including Caribbean high schools, to promote education on colonial legacies and the need for justice and repair.

The CRR embodies the goals of The UWI Triple ‘A’ Strategy 2022–2027– Phase Two: Revenue Revolution, that is, to advance learning, create knowledge and foster innovation for the positive transformation of the Caribbean through access, alignment and agility powered by digital transformation. This is evidenced in the CRR’s primary interlocking objectives, which are highlighted under the following:

The CRR reflects Access within the context of the Triple ‘A’ Strategy, as its main goals include:

• To promote research on (a) the legacies of colonialism, native genocide, enslavement and indentureship in the Caribbean; and (b) how to bring justice and positive transformation to these legacies.
• To promote education at The UWI and across Caribbean school systems on the legacies of colonialism, enslavement and native genocide and the need for justice and repair, especially as the CAPE History syllabus now contains a theme on reparation. To this end the CRR has recently been on a regional tour to promote the recently published (December 2021) text, Introduction to Reparation for Secondary Schools.
• To drive independent funding, including grants in furtherance of the goal of revenue revolution.
• In keeping with the fact that the University is a global university that encourages diversity, the CRR has hosted international speakers and participated in global events both face-to-face and virtually. The CRR has also facilitated visiting researchers from all over the world.
• The CRR, in achieving these goals, will improve the quality of learning and student development at the secondary and tertiary levels while improving the quality and impact of research on students specifically and the wider Caribbean community.

The purpose of the CRR’s establishment was not only to conduct research that would advance the claim for reparations but also to promote greater activism and public advocacy. The Centre’s establishment has resulted in the increased promotion of those areas, as proven by the requests for consultancy that are regularly made to the CRR.

This is also reflected in another main goal of the CRR, which is to promote advocacy for reparatory justice by building a capacity for:

• consultancy to CARICOM/Caribbean states, the UN and other relevant institutions
• raising public awareness; and
• supporting activism for reparatory and decolonial justice from grassroots to governments.

The CRR’s capacity to promote advocacy is integral to its practical, solution-oriented, and extroverted focus. The CRR takes very seriously its capacity to act as a consultant, a raiser of consciousness, and an activist on matters of colonial legacies and decolonisation.

The final tier is Agility, which refers to the desire to expand the UWI’s physical presence on all continents, restore its financial health, and generate economies of scale and scope while fostering a creative, caring, accountable, motivated, and professional team.

After the Triple “A”: The Revenue Revolution

The UWI has implemented an operational plan dedicated exclusively to addressing its financial sustainability, which was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, since face-to-face operations resumed in January 2022, the CRR has bolstered its commitment to diversifying its income stream, which has been a part of its mandate since 2017. Therefore, the CRR will continue to seek institutional partnerships and opportunities for grant funding, which every staff member is expected to do.

Fundraising and Research Projects

• Collaboration with the South African High Commissioner’s Office in Jamaica to facilitate meetings and discussions about collaboration and partnership with interested stakeholders in South Africa
• Research in collaboration with SALISES for REPAIR Campaign regional country studies (funded)
• New collaboration with Queen Mary University, UK, on “Mapping the Sam Sharpe War” (to be funded)
• New collaboration with Heritage developers of Bushy Park (funded) and Friendship Estates in Jamaica. (to be funded)
• Funding for inaugural reparation film festival and other events from the Open Society grant Research to culminate in the creation of a book for the National Stadium of Jamaica with Independence Park Limited, the managing company for the National Stadium (funded)

The CRR continued to negotiate for funding from the CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC), but the receipt of funds in 2023/2024 affected its financial health. The CRR will intensify its application for external grants and funding from CARICOM in 2024/2025.

Reparation Conversation extends the Centre for Reparation Research’s column in the Jamaica Sunday Gleaner. In this first season, through meaningful conversations with reparation advocates and scholars, the CRR worked to unveil the justifications for the transatlantic trafficking in enslaved Africans and the various ways these persons found their way to the movement. The CRR, in collaboration with UWItv, filmed four interviews over two days with Dr. Sonjah Stanley Niaah, Steven Golding, Barbara Blake Hannah and the Vice-Chancellor of The UWI, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles. The intention was to highlight three themes: Introduction to Reparation, Grassroots Reparation Movement and Leading a Movement.

• Introduction to Reparation:
  • Dr. Stanley Niaah, through her work in cultural studies, and the prohibition on entertainment for enslaved Africans
  • Steven Golding, through his exposure to Marcus Garvey and Black Power movements,
  • Grassroots Reparation Movement
• Barbara Blake Hanna spoke about the evolution of her work as a journalist, the influence of her Rastafari faith, and how these led her to the movement.
• Leading a Movement: Prof. Sir Hilary Beckles introduced how his personal history as a child of Windrush and his career as a historian enabled him to lead the growing global reparations movement.