Benin Bronzes
Who has the moral right to decide?
We are the Restitution Study Group, a United States based non-profit organization concerned with slavery justice. This letter is submitted on behalf of UK, Caribbean Commonwealth nations, and USA citizens whose ancestors were enslaved in exchange for metal manillas that were melted and cast into the Benin bronzes. Slave descendants have a co-ownership interest in these relics and we ask that you reject any request to transfer them to Nigeria.
We want to secure access to these relics for our children and families at museums in the UK and USA — in this case the Horniman Public Museum and Park Trust in the UK. The Kingdom of Benin through Nigeria would be unjustly enriched by repatriation of these relics they made with manilla currency they were paid to raid villages with illegal guns and other weapons, steal women, children and men, sell them into the Transatlantic slave trade, and sometimes kill them in ritual sacrifices.
Turn to the History Reclaimed website to continue reading the letter.
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
