Seminars

Memory and Slavery: Social and Human Consequences

  • Founded
    2001
  • Seminar Number
    689

This Seminar addresses the legacy of slavery in the western hemisphere, focusing on African-American slavery in the United States.  Presenters and discussants participate in dialogue on the history of slavery, its neurobehavioral and cultural underpinnings, the social, economic, and political factors facilitating ongoing racism and inequities, and the consequences for ancestors of enslaved peoples and enslaving peoples in the modern world.  Members of this seminar include anthropologists, clergy, historians, neuroscientists, psychologists, sociologists, and other scholars and guests who share an interest in learning from the collective memories of slavery, determining what must be done to heal the wounds left behind by slavery, and determining how to move toward equitable and healthy societies in which all peoples can thrive.

Co-Chairs
Professor Emily Anderson
emily.anderson@ret.bmcc.cuny.edu

Dr. John Delfs
john@goodwolf.org

Rapporteur
Isaac Sekyi Nana Mensah
im2586@columbia.edu

All seminars will continue to meet virtually through Fall 2021. Meeting links provided upon RSVP. Meeting dates and times are subject to change.

Meeting Schedule

09/23/2021 Online Meeting
12:00 PM
The Call for Reparations in Theological Key
Keri Day, Princeton Theological Seminary
Abstract

Abstract

Just a couple of years ago, three Democratic presidential candidates—Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and Julián Castro—endorsed the concept of granting reparations to black Americans affected by slavery and racial discrimination. It is still front and center in many current political debates. Is reparations part of the solution to repairing racial injustices? If so, why? This seminar will explore these questions by telling a story about why the call for reparations is 1) already situated with an American democratic tradition and 2) why it is also central to the Christian witness (reparations is a social and theological imperative). This seminar hopes to sponsor critical dialogue around the history of reparations and how religious communities might participate in this call to repair.