How Africa Can Lead on Global Racial Justice

Waves of protests over the killing of George Floyd have highlighted the systemic racism against people of African descent in the U.S. and globally. They have led to a growing movement calling for a reckoning with the historical legacies of racism, and with how past exploitation contributed to building industrialized economies. There are calls for financial reparations, and for commissions through which Black people can share their experiences so that those in power might listen, learn, acknowledge and put in place institutional reforms to ensure that such injustices aren’t repeated.

In short, there is global demand for what has come to be called “transitional justice,” this time centered around the Black experience worldwide. African states have largely been observers in this, although they did initiate a significant debate on racism at the United Nations Human Rights Council. Building on that, they should lead the charge in facilitating a global commission on historical injustice for Black people, for three reasons.