Caroline Russell calls on Mayor to work for all-party parliamentary commission on atonement and compensation for African enslavement
In February, the London Assembly debated a motion to mark the United Nations International Decade for Peoples of African Descent 2015-2024, committing City Hall to eradicating racial injustice and anti-Black racism in the capital.
Welcoming the motion, Assembly Member, Caroline Russell, introduced an amendment asking the Mayor to support the establishment of an All-Party Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry for Truth and Reparatory Justice.
Her amendment called on those that have not yet expressed remorse to find a way to contribute to the restoration of the dignity of victims.
She said “In London we owe so much to Africans and people of African descent – and not just here in this city, but in all our connections and communities all over the world.”
Disappointingly, the amendment was not supported by the other parties, receiving backing only from Caroline and her Green Party colleague and London mayoral candidate, Sian Berry.
Russell, who is backing the campaign for racial justice by Stop the Maangamizi said it was vital that communities from the African diaspora are at the heart of the process of any investigation into reparations. “Their voices, their stories, their solutions, should be the driving force.”
In October 2020, The Green Party became the first major political party to commit to seeking reparations for the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans.