A response to Andy Burnham: We need an apology and reparations

I read with interest the recent news that United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham is now open to calls for a formal apology for Britain’s role in the transatlantic trafficking in enslaved Africans and chattel enslavement. On the face of it, this is some good news. Only a full and formal apology can allow for the healing of wounds and the destruction of cultures caused by colonialism, chattel enslavement and other forms of oppression of peoples to begin. The Reparations Commission of the Caribbean Community (CRC of CARICOM) has been requesting a dialogue on apology and reparations for some time without success. Indeed, previous such demands have been met with expressions of deep sorrow and regret, but never an apology or even a promise of one.