Ghana’s Prez Confronts Slave Trade Legacy. Reparations Push Grows. Trump Tariffs Hit Small Biz
Quick Read
Summary
Takeaways
- ❖Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama successfully passed a UN resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade the "gravest crime against humanity" and calling for reparations.
- ❖The United States, Argentina, and Israel were the only three countries to vote against the UN resolution, with 52 nations, primarily European, abstaining.
- ❖Ghana's President criticized US efforts to remove Black history courses and ban books on slavery and racism from school curricula.
- ❖A report by the Small Business Majorities Network indicates that nearly two-thirds of US small businesses face increased expenses, while almost half report declining revenue.
- ❖Donald Trump's tariffs negatively impacted over 70% of small businesses, contributing to higher supply costs and reduced consumer spending.
- ❖Small business owners are forced to raise prices, delay investments, freeze hiring, or lay off workers due to rising costs and low profit margins.
- ❖The Kin Kofa app helps Black families preserve their legacy by allowing users to upload memories, record oral histories, and collaborate on family trees, starting with a free account and paid subscription options for more features.
Insights
1UN Resolution on Transatlantic Slave Trade and Reparations
Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama successfully introduced a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly to recognize the transatlantic slave trade as the "gravest crime against humanity" and called for reparations. The resolution passed with overwhelming support (123 votes in favor), but the United States, Argentina, and Israel voted against it, and 52 countries (mostly European) abstained.
The resolution A/80L48, titled 'Declaration of the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialized Chattel Enslavement of Africans as the Gravest Crime Against Humanity,' received 123 votes in favor, three against (Argentina, Israel, United States), and 52 abstentions (including UK, Portugal, Spain).
2US Policies Undermining Black History
Ghana's President Mahama criticized current US policies for actively removing Black history courses from school curricula, mandating against teaching the truth about slavery, segregation, and racism, and banning related books from schools and public libraries. He framed these actions as normalizing the erasure of history, similar to historical laws regulating the enslaved.
President Mahama stated, "Here in the United States, black history courses are being removed from school curricula. Schools are being mandated to stop teaching students about the truth of slavery, segregation, and racism in American history courses. Books about those topics are being banned in schools and public libraries."
3Small Businesses Hit Hard by Tariffs and Rising Costs
A report from the Small Business Majorities Network revealed that nearly two-thirds of small business owners experienced increased expenses in the past three months, while almost half reported declining revenue. Donald Trump's tariffs were cited as negatively impacting over 70% of small businesses, leading to higher costs for supplies, reduced consumer spending, and struggles to make payroll.
Nikki Bravo, co-founder of Momentum Coffee, stated, "Looking at comparison from year-over-year, we're seeing lower lower revenues... we really point to things like the tariffs... Uncertainty for small businesses is a killer, right? It impacts our ability to be able to purchase, it impacts our ability to be able to hire."
4Reparations as an Unprecedented but Necessary Step
Johanna Leblanc, a national security law expert, noted that while the UN resolution is not legally binding, it elevates the conversation diplomatically. She emphasized that reparations are not unprecedented, citing examples of Japanese internment camp survivors and Holocaust survivors receiving compensation, arguing that people of African descent also deserve reparations for historical harm.
Johanna Leblanc stated, "What President Mama is asking for in terms of reparations is nothing unprecedented, right? Other groups have received reparations. You have the Japanese, you have the Holocaust survivors, um and now African-Americans or people of African people of African descent, uh want reparations for the harm that had been done to to them."
5Kin Kofa App for Black Genealogy and Legacy Preservation
Cousins Jordon Brunson and Tamisha Roodidge created Kin Kofa, a web app designed to preserve Black legacy beyond traditional family trees and DNA. It allows users to upload family memories, photos, videos, documents, and record oral histories, fostering collaboration among family members to keep stories within the family and address issues like heirs property.
Jordon Brunson explained, "Canca is a web app to preserve black legacy... not just as things like family tree and DNA um but really the stories, the memories, um the things that really make black folks black folks uh from recipes to family gathering memories, family reunions, um black history..."
Bottom Line
The non-binding nature of the UN resolution on the slave trade means that while it's a diplomatic victory, actual reparative justice requires further action, specifically navigating the UN Security Council where countries like the US hold veto power.
This highlights the limitations of international resolutions in enforcing justice against powerful nations and underscores that the fight for reparations is a long-term political and diplomatic battle, not just a symbolic one.
Advocates for reparations must shift focus to lobbying individual nations, particularly those with Security Council vetoes, and explore alternative international legal avenues or bilateral agreements to move beyond symbolic recognition.
The economic pressure on small businesses due to rising costs and tariffs disproportionately impacts their ability to hire and train individuals from under-resourced communities, as they are forced to prioritize experienced hires to mitigate risk.
This creates a negative feedback loop where economic policies intended to protect domestic industries inadvertently hinder social mobility and economic opportunity in vulnerable communities, undermining mission-based businesses.
Policymakers should consider targeted subsidies or tax breaks for small businesses that commit to hiring and training from under-resourced communities, offsetting the increased risk and cost associated with such initiatives during economic downturns.
The Ghanaian President's speech directly challenged the 'normalization of erasure' of Black history in the US, citing examples like PragerU's animated videos that misrepresent slavery and historical figures like Christopher Columbus.
This underscores a global awareness and concern among African leaders regarding the distortion of history, particularly concerning the transatlantic slave trade, and positions the fight for historical truth as an international human rights issue.
International educational and cultural organizations, in collaboration with African nations and diaspora communities, could develop and promote counter-narratives and accurate historical resources to combat revisionist history being taught in some Western countries.
Opportunities
Kin Kofa App for Black Legacy Preservation
A web application designed to help Black families preserve their unique legacy by allowing users to upload and archive family memories (photos, videos, documents), record oral histories, and build collaborative family trees. It focuses on privacy and dignity, offering both free and subscription-based access with additional features like family reunion planning and tools for cultural institutions.
Key Concepts
Afterlife of Slavery
The concept that the systemic logic and structures of slavery continue to persist and influence contemporary inequalities, necessitating reparations and ongoing efforts for justice, rather than viewing history as entirely in the past.
Economic Cushion
The practice for business owners to maintain significant financial reserves (e.g., half a million dollars for several months of operating expenses) to absorb unexpected costs or revenue downturns, preventing immediate layoffs or business closure, even during profitable years.
Lessons
- Support Black-owned media and businesses like the Black Star Network and Momentum Coffee to ensure their stories are told and their economic contributions are sustained.
- Be intentional with your spending by supporting small businesses in your community, providing constructive feedback directly to them, and understanding the challenges they face with rising costs.
- Utilize platforms like Kin Kofa to actively preserve your family's oral histories, photos, and documents, ensuring that personal and community legacies are not lost to time or historical erasure.
Notable Moments
Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama laying a wreath at the African Burial Ground National Monument in New York City, paying tribute to nearly 20,000 enslaved Africans.
This solemn gesture underscored the deep historical connection between African nations and the diaspora, serving as a powerful symbol of remembrance and a tangible act in the broader push for reparatory justice.
The host Roland Martin explaining the definition of a 'small business' in America as having up to 499 employees, contrasting it with common perception.
This clarification is important for understanding the scale of businesses impacted by economic policies like tariffs, showing that 'small business' encompasses a much wider range of enterprises than typically imagined, including those with significant employee counts.
Quotes
"A resolution is just a resolution. It doesn't necessarily have any um it's not legally binding... what it does is that it it just elevates the conversation diplomatically and politically."
"The least this country can do, not what they should do, which is reparations... But the least they can do is recognize the atrocities. This was the simplest, easiest thing this nation could have done to make a small step in towards atonement for all of us who are the the those who remain of the evil that they did to our ancestors. They could even do that."
"When you are a black American in this country, you don't get that. And so to even um see um Ghana stand up and advocate for black Americans in that way is so powerful because we don't have that."
"Uncertainty for small businesses is a killer, right? It impacts our ability to be able to purchase. It impacts our ability to be able to hire. It impacts our ability to be able to um know what the what's going to happen next."
"There's no such thing as a slave. There were human beings who were trafficked and then enslaved by people who believed they could own those human beings as chats as their personal property."
"Slavery slavery is wrong now and it was wrong then."
Q&A
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