Four University of Rochester faculty members and an advocate for reparations for African Americans will discuss the issue from historical and economic perspectives at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20, in the Welles-Brown Room of Rush Rhees Library on the University of Rochester's River Campus.
Sponsored by the Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African-American Studies and the Black Students Union, the discussion, titled "Reparations for African Americans: An American Dilemma?," is free and open to the public. A reception will follow the discussion.
Adjoa A. Aiyetoro, an attorney and longtime social activist, will make the case for providing reparations for descendants of African slaves. She leads litigation activities for the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America, and is the former director of administration for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and former director of the National Conference of Black Lawyers.
From their academic disciplines, four faculty members will discuss the topic. Stanley Engerman, professor of economics and history, will look at the economic history of the reparations issue in America, including estimates on the cost of compensation. Fredrick Harris, associate professor of political science, will examine current activism around the issue of reparations and its place as a social movement in the 21st century. Harris serves as the director of the Center for the Study of African-American Politics.
Larry E. Hudson, Jr., director of the Frederick Douglass Institute and associate professor of history, will discuss the impact of the contemporary reparations movement on the academic study of American slavery. Joseph E. Inikori, professor of history, will offer a global context on reparations, including the impact of slavery on the African continent and the arguments for reparations there.
For more information, contact the Douglass Institute at (585) 275-7235.