ACRRA ADMIN
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White Guilt or Justice: The Past History of Reparations
The debate over reparations is often framed as an attempt to impose “white guilt” for events that occurred generations ago. History tells a different story. Reparations are not a new or radical concept. Governments have repeatedly used compensation, restitution, apologies, and other forms of redress when people have suffered identifiable injustices. In 1862, the United…
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A Case for Reparations
Reparations are not about rewriting history. They are about confronting what history produced. For the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands, the legacy of slavery and colonialism is not an abstract chapter from the past. Denmark controlled the islands for more than two centuries before transferring the Danish West Indies to the United States in…
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Fifty Degrees Difference, Same Fate
“Legally speaking, the 1917 treaty should still stand, experts in The New York Times also say regarding the matter. They confirm Moorhead’s position that the position of the US Virgin Islands must also be renegotiated if America breaks with 1917.” The above article was published in the Netherlands yesterday. It is in Dutch. The publication…
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International Press. International Law. Real Consequences.
A major European publication, Svenska Dagbladet (SvD), has now placed the U.S. Virgin Islands directly within the international legal and geopolitical conversation surrounding Greenland, colonialism, self-determination, and international law. The article is published in Swedish and is behind a paywall, but its significance should not be overlooked. The author examines the legal implications of Denmark’s…
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Update to the People of the United States Virgin Islands
Yesterday, at the request of the Kingdom of Denmark, I met in Christiansted with Ambassador Stig Paolo Piras, Deputy Chief of Mission of Denmark to the United States, along with representatives of the Danish Embassy. This was not a ceremonial meeting or a photo opportunity. It was a substantive discussion about history, responsibility, and the…
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‘Ghana was the crime scene’: The country leading the demand for slavery reparations
This year has seen a dramatic change in tone in the global conversation about the transatlantic slave trade. The demand for formal apologies, debt relief and financial compensation from nations and institutions that benefited from slavery has become increasingly forceful. In March, a resolution was passed at the United Nations recognising slavery as “the greatest…