Reparations & Archaeology: Envisioning Social Justice for People of African Descent

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Black Studies and Archaeology" , at the 2021 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Recent U.S. protests over George Floyd’s death and racial health disparities emerging from COVID 19 are the latest of many calls for anti-racist justice that have been pondered by Black studies and activists for a long time. These pressing traumas have led people to call into question their beliefs about their capacities for survival and success. Some have been moved to join the historical conversation about compensatory justice. For archaeologists, it begs questions about the social relevance of our work and the utility of knowledge produced by, about, and for people of African Descent. Can we push the boundaries of our discipline beyond studying problems to a more visionary or applied approach to solving them? How can archaeology be engaged in Black Studies discourses and African Diasporan projects about social justice? These questions are examined with a focus on reparations, and the diverse debates and proposals concerning it.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Black Studies and Archaeology   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2021

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology