"As advocates for slavery reparations, we are proud to be the godparents of this museum that honors our right to demand restitution from corporations and others complicit in the enslavement of Africans for economic gain," said Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, Executive Director of the Restitution Study Group, pioneer in the movement for corporate restitution for slavery, and lead plaintiff in a landmark lawsuit for reparations from blue-chip companies. The lawsuit is pending in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, Ill.
"But for the violation of ex-slaves' First Amendment rights, there might not be a need for a slavery reparations movement today, " said Farmer-Paellmann. In the late 1800s, over 600,000 ex-slaves organized themselves and petitioned the United States government for ex-slave pensions. Bills were passed out of committees from both houses of Congress supporting the pensions. The federal government began prosecuting the movement's leaders on false charges of mail fruad. Historian Mary Frances Berry highlights this struggle in her new book, "My Face Is Black Is True," about Mrs. Callie House, the unsung heroine of the first mass mobilization of Black people in America -- the ex-slave pension movement.
Farmer-Paellmann attended the museum opening with Restitution Study Group's special guest, film maker Leslie K. Brown. Brown's documentary short, "Untold Legacy," highlights the struggle for passage of a slavery era disclosure bill in New York City. Chicago Alderman Dorothy Tillman, champion of these laws which require corporations to disclose their ties to slavery, is featured in the film. The documentary debuted at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City during Black History Month 2006.
The Restitution Study Group learned about the McCormick Tribune Foundation's museum naming competition while doing research on the Tribune Company's complicity in slavery through its newspaper, the Hartford Courant, a Connecticut paper that profited from brokering the sale of enslaved Africans, and ran ads for runaway slaves. Farmer-Paellmann asked that they pay restitution into a trust fund to benefit slave descendants. She even coordinated a lucrative book deal for the company to facilitate the payment. The company still refused to pay. The book was released late last year.
"We remain hopeful that the Tribune Company will practice what they preach and liberate any wealth they earned from slavery," said Farmer-Paellmann.
