Looking to the Past to Create the Future
November 26, 2022 Tina Daheley is joined by Herman Parzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation who oversees the work of 27 museums and cultural organizations in Germany; Annelize Kotze, Curator at the national Iziko Museums of South Africa; Alexander Herman, Director of the UK based Institute of Art and Law and author of …
Continue reading "BBC – The Cultural Frontline: Cultural restitution… who decides?"
The tragedy of the Benin bronzes being taken from the Benin Kingdom in 1897 is certain, but the untold story of the relics must be acknowledged too. The 16th to 19th century Benin bronzes are Blood Metal -- made from melted metal bracelets called manillas, a currency paid to the Benin Kingdom in exchange for …
By Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani A group of African Americans has filed a lawsuit to stop the return of some Benin Bronzes from the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC to Nigeria. They claim that the bronzes - looted by British colonialists in the 19th Century from the kingdom of Benin in what is now Nigeria - …
Continue reading "Why slave descendants want the Benin Bronzes to stay in US — BBC"
Open Letter to Vice President Kamala Harris, Chief Justice John Roberts and other Smithsonian Board of Regents Members Dear Vice President Harris, Chief Justice Roberts and all members of the Smithsonian Board of Regents, I represent the Restitution Study Group, a New York-metro organization concerned with slavery justice. I am also one of millions of …
Continue reading "SMITHSONIAN BENIN BRONZE TRANSFERS TO NIGERIA ARE ILLEGAL"
EMAIL THE VICE PRESIDENT & THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION BOARD OF REGENTS: To: wilkinsonp@si.edu Cc: rsgincorp1@gmail.com Dear Vice President Harris & Smithsonian Board of Regents, Don't transfer Benin bronzes to Nigeria and slave trader heirs. Most were made with manilla currency paid in exchange for enslaved people! Save them for heirs of the enslaved! THEY BELONG TO ALL …
Continue reading "CALL TO ACTION! STOP THE BENIN BRONZE TRANSFERS"
Human Rights Group Succeeds at First Step In Fight to Block Transfer of Bronzes to Heirs of Slave Traders On Tuesday, October 11, 2022, counsel for the Restitution Study Group (RSG), a New York non-profit concerned with slavery justice, and the Smithsonian Institution appeared before Judge Christopher R. Cooper in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia …
Human Rights Advocates Oppose Transfer of 16th-19th Century Slave Trade Bronzes Washington, D.C. Benin bronze photo by Kamm Howard The Restitution Study Group (RSG), a New York-metro area non-profit concerned with slavery justice, and its Executive Director, Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, are Plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed Friday, October 7, 2022, against the Smithsonian Institution in the …
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August 15, 2022 Re: Charity Number 802725 To Charitable Commissions Representative, 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 nation, and USA citizens whose ancestors were enslaved in exchange for metal manillas that were melted and cast into the Benin bronzes. Slave …
Continue reading "RESTITUTION STUDY GROUP – CLAIM IN OPPOSITION TO TRANSFER OF BENIN BRONZES"
Oxford and Cambridge should not return the Benin Bronzes to Nigeria because the African country benefited from slavery, it has been claimed. The Charity Commission is facing pressure from an American civil rights group to block a plan by the elite universities to return the historic artefacts to Nigeria. Continue reading
Ex-slaves, Arthur Wall and Annie Miller, and the Peonage Detective who discovered them, Antoinette Harrell, are set to attend a Baton Rouge, Louisiana premiere of “Alice” on Friday, March 18, 2022. The revenge thriller was inspired by their lives as slaves on Mississippi plantations up until the 1960’s. Keke Palmer stars in the film as …
Continue reading "Ex-Slaves Who Inspired “Alice” Film to Attend Baton Rouge Premiere"
Restitution Study Group 