BENIN BRONZES OFFER UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR PAN AFRICAN UNITY & LEADERSHIP
by Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, Executive Director, Restitution Study Group, Delivered to the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, United Nations, New York, May 31, 2023 This is a Benin bronze. It was made with manillas, a currency paid to the Benin kingdom in exchange for people they sold to European slave traders. The manillas were…
Benin Bronze Slave Trade Film Wins Two Awards At Cannes – Restitution Study Group Celebrating Recognition
The Restitution Study Group (RSG), a New York reparatory justice institute, is celebrating victories at the Cannes film festival Marche du Film. Their short film, “They Belong to All of Us: The Benin Bronze Slave Trade Story,” won two awards at the International Cell Phone Cinema Awards in Cannes: Best Film for Social Purpose and…
RESTITUTION STUDY GROUP RELEASED TRAILER FOR BENIN BRONZE SHORT FILM – Two Screenings in Cannes on May 25th
The Restitution Study Group (RSG), a New York based reparatory justice non-profit, released the trailer for their short film, “They Belong to All of Us: The Benin Bronze Slave Trade Story.” We are proud to have two Out of Competition screenings at the Marche du Film in Cannes, France on May 25th, 2023. Free DNA…
Restitution Study Group Taking Benin Bronze Story to Cannes – May 25th Screenings
We are proud to announce two Out of Competition screenings of our short film “They Belong to All of Us: The Benin Bronze Slave Trade Story” at the Marche du Film in Cannes, France on May 25th, 2023. The first screening will be at the International Cellphone Cinema Showcase, 2pm at the Eden Hotel and…
RESTITUTION STUDY GROUP RESPONSE TO GERMAN PARLIAMENT DABATES ON BENIN BRONZES — May 12, 2023
We watched the German Parliament debates today with great interest. MP Awet Tesfaiesus quoted Julius Nyrere to make an analogy between the taking of the Benin bronzes in 1897 and a person who visits your home and steals a jacket. She suggests they could never have proper ownership of your jacket, but: “If the jacket had the…
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art is looking for a new director — again
Ngaire Blankenberg quietly left the institution at the end of March For the third time in six years, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art is looking for a new director. Ngaire Blankenberg, a museum and cultural consultant who took up the post in July 2021, left the museum at the end of this…
Join DNA Descendants Database – Benin Bronze Case
If you have Nigerian DNA from an ancestor enslaved in the Americas (Brazil, Caribbean, USA etc.) via the transatlantic slave trade, then you are a “DNA Descendant.” If you wish to be considered at the ongoing negotiations for shared ownership of the iconic Benin bronzes — our cultural property worth $30 billion — we need…
Black Group tells Met not to return king’s ‘slavery profits’
Today we are featured in the New York Post in the above referenced article by Isabel Vincent about our negotiations with The Met and the Oba of Benin to secure our co-ownership rights and interests in the $30 billion dollar slave trade Benin bronzes. Yesterday, we were featured on German TV (at 23:08 in linked video) discussing the slave trade…
NYT Feature –
For U.S. Museums With Looted Art, the Indiana Jones Era Is Over by Graham Bowley Prodded by law enforcement, and pushed by foreign governments, American museums are increasingly returning artifacts to countries of origin, but critics wonder at what cost. One organization, the Restitution Study Group, has sued to block the Smithsonian’s transfers. Deadria Farmer-Paellmann,…
BENIN BRONZE ALERT!
Speak up at the Smithsonian Board of Regents Annual Public Forum When Tuesday, December 13, 2022 -3:00pm – 4:00pm Where Live webcast at www.si.edu/regents/webcasts Who Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the SmithsonianSteve Case, Chair, Smithsonian Board of RegentsJorge Zamanillo, director, National Museum of the American LatinoLisa Sasaki, interim director, Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum The Smithsonian Board…
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