The Negre Marron by Albert Mangones commemorates the Haitian slave revolt against France. Steve Bennett/Flickr. Creative Commons
Europe’s role in slavery and the slave trade has long been a highly contentious subject, raising all kinds of issues that many in Europe would rather forget or ignore. However, this longstanding reluctance to talk about slavery and its legacies has been challenged in recent years by a frenzy of memorial activity that, on the surface at least, suggests a shared desire to confront the crimes of history. Despite these recent and ongoing efforts, there remains a widespread failure to engage with the ways in which past abuses are reflected in present problems, most notably racial discrimination and all of its attendant socio-economic and political implications.
The past seems to echo in the present on a daily basis, bringing with it reminders of unresolved social tensions that are rooted in the history of slavery and colonial rule. Even though France is the only European slave-trading nation to legally recognise slavery and the slave trade as crimes against humanity (2001), too little has been done to address the after-effects of slavery within republican society. All too often, deeply embedded forms of institutional racism are sidestepped by relying on appeals to ‘universal’ human rights. This approach fails to take into account the specific legacies of slavery and their ongoing impact on slave-descendant and black communities. This begs the question: what purpose do recent efforts to remember and commemorate the past serve if they fail to take account of these contemporary social issues?
