National

Tired of Black Men Getting Shot Down, Killed in Cold Blood

Published

11 years ago

April 21, 2015

Muhiydin D'Baha leads a group protesting the shooting death of Walter Scott at city hall in North Charleston, S.C., Wednesday, April 8, 2015. Scott was killed by a North Charleston police office after a traffic stop on Saturday. The officer, Michael Thomas Slager, has been charged with murder. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Muhiydin D’Baha leads a group protesting the shooting death of Walter Scott at city hall in North Charleston, S.C., Wednesday, April 8, 2015. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

by Brian E. Muhammad
Special to the NNPA from The Final Call

COLUMBIA, S.C. (FinalCall.com) – What began as a minor traffic stop apparently for a malfunctioning tail light ended with a homicide. Another Black man, another White cop and another video of a police officer killing an unarmed person.

The amateur recording showed Michael Slager, 33, a North Charleston, S.C., police officer calmly squeezing the trigger of his gun eight times—firing at the back of 50-year-old Walter Scott, a Black laborer, forklift operator and father of four.

“We’re tired of Black men getting shot down and killed in cold blood,” said DeAndre Muhammad, the Charleston representative of the Nation of Islam.

With the killing of Walter Scott, Trayvon Martin, Tanisha Anderson, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner and others—men and women—shot down by police, we must recognize we are not in a post racial America, said Student Minister Muhammad. “This is an outright war and attack on Black people in general and Black males in particular.”

The Charleston County Coroner’s Office declared Mr. Scott died from multiple gunshot wounds to the back, and ruled his death a homicide. Coroner Rae Wooten said an autopsy was performed one day after the shooting, according to media reports.

Footage from Mr. Slager’s vehicle DashCam released by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED)—the state agency that investigates police involved shootings—showed Mr. Scott exiting his car and running.

Mr. Scott was possibly concerned about an outstanding warrant related to back child support payments.

However an outraged community says being shot in the back as seen on the video is never justified.

The video from the camera phone recorded by Feidin Santana placed a spotlight on continued concern about police officers brutalizing, terrorizing and killing Black, Brown and poor people.

Using cell phone videos and swift online distribution has birthed a new tool for accountability independent of the criminal justice system, said social justice advocates.

“This technology in the hands of regular people is what alerts the citizenry of what’s going on,” saidThandisizwe Chimurenga, the Los Angeles-based author of “No Doubt: The Murder(s) of Oscar Grant.”

“It is a great tool in the hands of regular people to put a check on police officers’ actions and hold them accountable, but more is needed from a policy level,” she said.

Many also say without the video, the slaying of Walter Scott would have been logged as another justifiable homicide.

Originally Off. Slager told investigators he feared for his safety and Mr. Scott struggled to take his taser.

The video contradicted the Slager claim and showed him shooting Mr. Scott from a distance, as the man ran away.

The video caused authorities to change the story they initially circulated in the press. It resulted in Off. Slager’s arrest, said James Johnson of the National Action Network-North Charleston branch.

“The police chief defended the policeman for three days stating that we would see in evidence that Mr. Scott took the taser from the officer,” Mr. Johnson told The Final Call.

Only after receiving a copy of the tape did officials call a press conference “within an hour” announcing Off. Slager would be arrested and charged with murder, he explained.

The common practice in police incidents is to believe the word of the officer, said analysts.

Because of the video there are growing calls for to hold other officers involved in the Scott death accountable as initial versions of events appear false.

The National Bar Association, America’s largest Black lawyers group, is demanding the firing of some officers who showed up after the shooting.

“In light of the fabricated statements made by Officer Slager and the incomplete police report filed by Officer Clarence Harbersham, the National Bar Association is demanding the immediate termination and indictment of Officer Harbersham and any other North Charleston police officer who filed a false police report,” the group said April 13. Other media reports allege several officers, including officers Slager and Habersham, did not perform CPR on Mr. Scott.

Mr. Santana, who shot the video, told media outlets there were no attempts to provide medical care to Mr. Scott.

His video recorded Off. Slager handcuffing a mortally wounded Scott, leaving his body, and returning with an object he dropped next to Mr. Scott. Some believe the object to be a taser and an attempt to cover up a deadly crime.

According to a report of Columbia’s daily newspaper, The State, police in South Carolina fired their weapons at 209 people in the past five years. Few officers were accused of illegal shootings and none convicted of crimes, according to an analysis by The State.

The analysis also found at least 101 Blacks were shot resulting in 34 fatalities. In comparison 67 White suspects were shot at with 41 fatalities. Four other shooting victims were classified as Latino, Asian or Native American.

“I believe the police are part of the mechanism of control and containment, part of the record of terrorism and keeping certain populations in their place—people of color, immigrants, working class people.

“I believe they’re part of the hammer used to terrorize these types of populations,” said Ms. Chimurenga.

Mr. Johnson described North Charleston policing as suppressive with poor people regularly preyed upon. “(Police) are not immune to killing a Black person,” he remarked.

Unprecedented police arrests in S. Carolina?

Recently South Carolina authorities have arrested police officers for grave crimes—though none have been convicted yet. The state’s actions in charging and arresting officers runs counter to decisions other places to not charge officers or to pass the decision to charge or not grand juries—grand juries which refuse to come back with indictments.

What will happen with prosecutions of officers in South Carolina remains to be seen.

“We saw Oscar Grant in Oakland, Calif., being murdered and the convicted cop was given two years and actually did less than one year in prison. We all saw Eric Garner being murdered and the justice system didn’t bring forth an indictment on the police,” Ms. Chimurenga pointed out.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said the agency is following the law—whether infractions by police or the public.

“Our position is that we follow the law, and when someone violates the law, they’re to be held accountable, said SLED spokesman Thom Berry, in a telephone inquiry with The Final Call.

SLED would not comment on the calls for the arrests of other officers involved in Mr. Scott’s case.

On the same day of Off. Slager’s April 7 arrest, SLED announced the re-arrest of Justin Craven, 25, a White police officer from North Augusta, S.C., who allegedly shot through a car window killing Earnest Satterwhite, in February 2014. According to a copy of the arrest warrant provided by SLED, Off. Craven is charged with a felony, “discharging a firearm into a vehicle while occupied,” which if convicted carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $1,000 or both.

Media reports said the 68-year-old Black grandfather was killed after police followed him on a slow speed chase that ended in his driveway. Off. Craven fired into the closed car window and was outside his legal jurisdiction, according to accounts of other officers who picked up the pursuit after it crossed county lines. The arrest warrant also reveals the incident was recorded on video.

The new felony charge is stiffer than the “misconduct in office” charge meted from a grand jury that was significantly less than manslaughter charges initially sought by state prosecutors. Citing an active investigation, SLED spokesperson Berry declined to answer Final Call questions about the timing of the Craven arrest on the same day as Off. Slagen’s arrest and growing hostility stemming from the Scott killing.

Addressing the question of timing—in a defensive manner—Mr. Berry only said critics were “making an assumption.”

Asked if he was denying the Slagen charges had anything to do with timing in the other case, the spokesperson told this reporter, “you will have to talk to others about that.”

In another South Carolina case, former Highway Patrolman Sean Groubert, 31, released a barrage of bullets at Black motorist Lavar Jones at a Columbia, S.C., gas station during a traffic stop. Mr. Groubert was fired, arrested, and charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and released on bail last year.

Mr. Groubert’s case is currently going through the courts, said Gary Cross, a spokesman for South Carolina’s Fifth Circuit Court. Mr. Jones, the shooting victim, settled out of court with the state for $285,000. Scott family attorney Chris Stewart announced a wrongful death and civil rights violation lawsuit April 9.

But is the arrest of and murder charge Off. Slager faces enough?

“I think it’s a little too late,” said Charleston community activist and Pastor Thomas Ravenall. The relationship “has been horrible for years” between the police and the Black community, he said.

“Black people are fired up and angry,” said the pastor. Animosity has been brewing for a long time, he added.

According to the National Bar Association, just two percent of police officers are charged with use of excessive force and less than .002 percent are actually convicted.

Some advocates for justice in police brutality cases say stronger legislation is needed.

“Mr. Scott’s case is now the poster child for why there is an immediate need to pass legislation to establish a succinct definition and mandatory training for escalation of force,” said Pamela Meanes, president of the National Bar Association. Until Congress passes such laws “we will continue to see police officers murder African Americans and the ‘law’ deem it ‘justifiable’ or ‘self-defense,’ ” she said.

Other advocates are convinced that a new and revolutionary solution is needed.

“There is a climate of total dissatisfaction,” said Student Minister Muhammad, referring to the criminal justice system and law enforcement.

“We really need to start looking at these situations and see it as a wake-up call for us to do something for ourselves,” he said. “Because the justice system is corrupt to the core; it is racist to the core.”

In the aftermath of Walter Scott’s killing the state government released funds to equip North Charleston police officers with body cameras. Mayor Keith Summey announced the grant at an April 8 press conference.

The shooting accelerated the debate in South Carolina around body cameras and led to the grant for the equipment.

“It won’t make a difference,” predicted Student Minister Muhammad. “That was a move just to pacify Black people in North Charleston as if they are really doing something. It was a political move more than a sincere act to give justice or security to Black people.”

The system is corrupt and body cameras don’t address the attitude and mindset of Whites who control the city, he added.

For Ms. Chimurenga the structures that are supposed provide checks and balance deter civilians and protect law enforcement.

Black and Brown communities are capable of defending and protecting themselves and that kind of discussion needs to happen, she said.

“The police are a threat to Black and Brown public safety,” added Ms. Chimurenga.

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Art

Houston’s ‘call Me Mother’ Exhibit Opens Today, Spotlighting Black Maternal Health

AFRICAN-AMERICAN NEWS AND ISSUES – DALLAS — The Health Museum in Houston today opens “The Call Me Mother Experience,” an exhibition spotlighting Black maternal health through art and personal storytelling. Curated by Houston’s first Black poet laureate, Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, the project originated from her own poem written during a miscarriage.

Published

2 hours ago

October 7, 2026

BlackPressUSA Newswire

Image Credit: African American News & Issues

HOUSTON — A new exhibition opening Sunday, Oct. 4, at The Health Museum is bringing Black maternal health into public view through art and personal storytelling.

The Call Me Mother Experience will be on display through Feb. 28, 2027. The museum lists a preview reception today from 3 to 5 p.m. at 1515 Hermann Drive, with tickets priced at $5 for members and $15 for nonmembers.

A personal story becomes a community conversation

According to the museum, founder, curator and lead artist Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton developed the project from a poem she wrote during a miscarriage. The installation combines films, recorded interviews, visual artwork and contributions created with community members.

Mouton, Houston’s first Black poet laureate, discussed the exhibition and her connection to its subject in an Oct. 1 appearance on KPRC’s Houston Life. The station described the project as addressing the unequal burden of pregnancy-related illness and death faced by Black women in Harris County.

An announcement distributed by the Call Me Mother Experience says the initiative will also reach community locations and faith-based organizations across Greater Houston. Those additional settings are intended to extend the conversation beyond a museum visit.

What visitors can expect

The museum says reception guests can explore the exhibit, hear the curator and meet participating artists. Reception admission includes general museum entry; refreshments are available while supplies last.

The featured image accompanying this article is an original illustrative concept, not a photograph of the exhibition or its artwork.

Sources and visitor information:The Health Museum exhibition listing; preview reception details and tickets; KPRC Houston Life; organizer announcement.

The post Houston’s ‘Call Me Mother’ Exhibit Opens Today, Spotlighting Black Maternal Health appeared first on African American News and Issues.

Based on reporting by African-American News and Issues – Dallas.

Black Press

Should You Have to Pay to Hear the Gospel?

ST. LOUIS AMERICAN — Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell of Atlanta’s 2819 CHURCH and Tim Timberlake of Celebration Church in Jacksonville, Florida, are at the center of a social media debate. The controversy stems from ticket prices for their “Street Preachers” podcast tour, with general admission tickets reportedly costing around $60 and VIP options up to $200.

Published

2 hours ago

October 7, 2026

BlackPressUSA Newswire

A sold-out podcast tour featuring Pastors Philip Anthony Mitchell, left, and Tim Timberlake has sparked debate over the boundary between spreading the Gospel and selling an experience. Critics question whether ministers should charge admission to hear the Gospel, with tickets including a $200 VIP package. — Photo courtesy of Street Preachers Podcast

For generations, the Black church has passed the offering plate to keep the lights on, pay the preacher, help the poor and carry the Gospel beyond its walls. But what happens when the preacher leaves the sanctuary, takes a popular Christian podcast on tour — and charges admission?

That question has placed Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell, founder and lead pastor of Atlanta’s fast-growing 2819 CHURCH, at the center of a heated social media debate.

Mitchell and Tim Timberlake, senior pastor of Celebration Church in Jacksonville, Florida, host “Street Preachers,” which its official website describes as a “raw, unfiltered podcast” committed to spreading the Gospel.

‘A brood of vipers’

The controversy began after ticket prices for the podcast’s 2026 tour circulated online. General admission tickets reportedly cost about $60 before fees, with premium options, including a VIP meet-and-greet package, priced at $200. Critics questioned whether ministers should charge people to hear the Gospel.

Others defended the pastors, arguing that Christian events require venues, transportation, security, equipment and staff.

Mitchell answered critics from the pulpit last month, calling them “a brood of vipers.” He said the podcast is a separate, personal project and that neither his church nor Timberlake’s is bankrolling it.

“Now we have decided to go on a tour to take the gospel to cities, and because that’s not funded by 2819, and it’s not funded by Celebration Church, Tim and I gotta do that with our own pockets,” Mitchell said. “It’s why there is tickets. We have to pay for venues and security and productions and staff from our own pockets.”

Mitchell called some critics “ignorant” and said they did not know that a child was healed through faith during one of the events.

“And you want to complain about a 60 ticket?” he said. “So hate on!”

Worship service vs. media event

Mitchell maintains that “Street Preachers” is an independently produced podcast tour, not a worship service, and that ticket revenue helps cover production costs.

Yet the presence of pastors, Scripture and Gospel language makes the distinction less clear to some believers.

The official tour website lists all eight 2026 stops as sold out. Promotional material announcing additional dates promised, “Better ticket options. Same Gospel. Same move of God.”

Corporate prayer gathering

The language gets to the heart of the dispute. Some Christians argue that no one should be kept outside because they cannot afford a ticket. Others say the Gospel remains free even when people pay for the venue and experience surrounding its presentation.

The paid podcast tour, however, is not Mitchell’s only large-scale gathering. On Oct. 10, 2819 CHURCH will host “ACCESS — That Powerful Hour of Prayer” at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Admission is free.

2819 CHURCH has said 80,000 free tickets were claimed before registration reopened.

The contrast raises another question: What makes one Gospel-centered event a ministry supported by donors and another a production supported by customers?

Unfiltered preaching, youth appeal

Mitchell’s congregation, composed largely of young Black adults, grew from fewer than 200 weekly worshippers in 2023 to about 6,000, according to the church. Some worshippers arrive before sunrise to secure a place inside.

His appeal rests partly in an intense, vulnerable and raw preaching style.

“I’m preaching without watering that down, without filtering out things that we think might be too controversial,” Mitchell told The Associated Press.

That visibility has also brought scrutiny of his theology, associations, travel, security and the businesses surrounding his ministry.

But the controversy reaches beyond Mitchell and Timberlake. Christian music concerts charge admission. Seminaries charge tuition. Religious publishers sell Bibles, books and devotionals. Churches pay musicians, media teams and guest preachers. Money becomes particularly uncomfortable, however, when an event is presented simultaneously as ministry and entertainment.

Ministry vs. entertainment

Supporters should not assume every dollar collected becomes personal profit. Critics, however, question whether lower-cost seats, sponsored tickets or free admission for people who cannot pay should be part of a Gospel-centered event.

The Black church always has required resources for ministry. It also has carried a sacred responsibility to make room for people with little or nothing to give.

The sold-out “Street Preachers” tour shows people are willing to pay to attend. The free ACCESS gathering offers a different model. The challenge is preserving that open door as Christian ministry increasingly adopts the machinery — and economics — of popular entertainment.

The post Should you have to pay to hear the Gospel? appeared first on St. Louis American.

Based on reporting by St. Louis American.

Black Press

NCCU Ramping up for the 89th Ultimate Homecoming Experience

NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY – CAMPUS ECHO — N.C. Central University is preparing for its 89th Ultimate Homecoming Experience, a week-long celebration. Thousands of students, family, friends, and alumni are expected to gather on campus for festivities including the Homecoming Countdown, parade, Miss and Mister NCCU Coronation, concerts, and the football game.

Published

2 hours ago

October 7, 2026

BlackPressUSA Newswire

NCCU's gospel choir, WPI performs at the 2025 Ultimate Homecoming gospel concert. — Photo by Morgan McNeil.

This Saturday N.C. Central University will kick off its 89th Ultimate Homecoming Experience — a week-long celebration bringing thousands of students, family, friends and alumni to campus.

This year’s festivities include the Homecoming Countdown, parade, Miss and Mister NCCU Coronation, concerts and the football game.

The number of visitors to the football game on Saturday, Oct. 10 is expected to reach at least 10,000 — O’Kelly Riddick Stadium’s capacity, with NCCU’s recent enrollment increase of more than 10,000 students.

The Eagles will face William & Mary after playing against the Campbell University’s Fighting Camels on Oct 3.

Students are already expressing excitement for the upcoming festivities.

“I’m excited for homecoming because I can meet alumni and go outside and party with my fellow eagles,” Digital Filmmaking junior Rhese Gardner said. “I’m also really looking forward to the Greek Bowl because there’s a lot going on.”

He added that even though he’s disappointed this semester’s Oil Spill was canceled, he’s still excited for the other events like the parade and concerts.

Here is a list of the week’s on-campus events:

Oct. 3 – Homecoming Countdown

Oct. 4 – Gospel Concert

Oct. 5 – Coronation of Miss and Mister NCCU

Oct. 6 – 10:40 Break

Oct. 6 – Homecoming Experience Showcase

Oct. 7 – Fried Chicken Wednesday

Oct. 7 – Festival Block Party

Oct. 7 – Late Night Breakfast

Oct. 8 – Back to the Nest Young Alumni Mixer

Oct. 8 – Old School Greek Stroll Off

Oct. 8 – Hip-Hop Concert

Oct. 9 – Step Show

Oct. 10 – Football Game

The post NCCU ramping up for the 89th Ultimate Homecoming Experience first appeared on Campus Echo Online.

Based on reporting by North Carolina Central University – Campus Echo.

Black Press

Botham Jean’s Killer Granted Parole 7 Years After His Murder

MICHIGAN CHRONICLE — Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger has been granted parole, seven years after her conviction for murdering Botham Jean inside his Dallas apartment. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles approved her release on October 1, seven years to the day after her murder conviction. Guyger was convicted in 2019 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for Jean’s 2018 death.

Published

3 hours ago

October 7, 2026

BlackPressUSA Newswire

Botham Jean’s Killer Granted Parole 7 Years After His Murder

Former Dallas police officerAmber Guyger has been granted parole seven years after she was convicted of murdering her neighbor,Botham Jean, inside his Dallas apartment.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles approved Guyger’s release Thursday (October 1), seven years to the day after Guyger was convicted of Jean’s murder, according to NBC News.

In 2019, a jury convicted Guyger of murder and she was sentenced to 10 years in prison for Jean’s 2018 death. Her conviction and 10-year sentence were upheld on appeal in 2022.

Geyger’s first parole request was denied in 2024, NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reported.

The Dallas Police Department fired her after the shooting. During her trial, Guyger testified that she mistakenly entered Jean’s apartment after returning home from work, believing it was her own apartment one floor below.

She said she saw Jean inside and fired her weapon because she believed he was an intruder, according to NBC News.

Jean was a 26-year-old Black man from St. Lucia who worked as an accountant. He was inside his home eating ice cream when Guyger entered and shot him, NBC DFW reported.

The parole board cited Guyger’s prison record in approving her release. According to NBC DFW, officials said she did not have a documented pattern of violent or assaultive arrests or convictions, maintained a satisfactory adjustment while incarcerated, and completed programs intended to help her obtain and maintain employment.

Jean’s family opposed the parole decision and had asked that Guyger serve her full 10-year sentence, according to NBC DFW.

Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt, who represents the family, told NBC DFW that the decision was deeply disappointing.

“They stood up again and again to ask that the full sentence be served,” Merritt said.

The Dallas Police Department told NBC DFW that the parole decision was outside its authority and that the department had no role in determining whether Guyger would be released. The department said its thoughts remained with Jean’s family and others affected by his death.

Guyger’s conviction and 10-year sentence were upheld on appeal in 2022.

A civil jury ordered Guyger to pay Jean’s family $98.6 million in damages in 2024, according to NBC DFW.

Guyger’s release date has not been announced. NBC News reported that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice will determine when she is released.

The Black Information Network is your source for Black News! Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HEREto tune in live.

Based on reporting by Michigan Chronicle.

Black History

Morehouse School of Medicine Fall Convocation Has Strong Ties to Nashville

TENNESSEE TRIBUNE — Morehouse School of Medicine recently held its 42nd Fall Convocation and White Coat and Pinning Ceremony, which highlighted strong connections to Nashville. Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, in her 12th year as president and CEO, leads the institution, which welcomed 355 new students.

Published

3 hours ago

October 7, 2026

BlackPressUSA Newswire

Morehouse School of Medicine held its 42nd Fall Convocation and White Coat and Pinning Ceremony on September 18, and it featured strong ties to Nashville. Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice is completing her 12th year as president and CEO of Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM). The school boasts 355 students seeking degrees and certificates in the medical field.

“This entering class represents the future of medicine, science, public health and health care leadership,” said Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD, and FACOG. “As these students begin their journeys at Morehouse School of Medicine, they join a community grounded in excellence, service and our shared commitment to advancing health equity. We look forward to supporting their development as leaders who will transform the health and well-being of the communities they serve.”

Infectious diseases physician and scientist Dr. Barney S. Graham, MD, and PhD, served as the keynote speaker. He serves as the director of the David Satcher Global Health Equity Institute, professor of Medicine and Microbiology, Biochemistry and Immunology at Morehouse School of Medicine. He is an inventor of vaccines and monoclonal antibodies approved for human use to prevent or treat RSV, COVID-19 and Ebola. He joined MSM in 2022. He served in various positions at Vanderbilt University for 21 years.

Dr. Graham told the audience to “Embrace the Unseen” and focused on three points: Do the Best You can with what’s in front of you, Do what makes you come alive and Do the right thing even when no one is looking. He added, “Anything you do to improve mental and physical wellness and promote disease prevention will reduce health disparity by reducing the resources needed for treatment.”

His remarks commanded a roaring applause from the audience, which included his wife, Dr. Cynthia Turner Graham, and the former First Lady of Tennessee State University, Mrs. Edwina Hefner, a close friend to the family.

Based on reporting by Tennessee Tribune.

Black History

Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Publishes Global Circle’s Vatican Reparations Call in Special Edition Alongside Heads of State

GLOBAL CIRCLE FOR REPARATIONS AND HEALING — Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published the Global Circle for Reparations and Healing’s submission, “From Accra to the Vatican,” in a special edition of The Ghanaian Envoy. This marks the first time a sovereign state has incorporated the Reparations Presentment to the Holy See into its official record. The 175-page edition, titled “Creating A New World,” also documents Ghana’s campaign that led to UN Resolution A/RES/80/250, which recognized the trafficking and enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity.

Published

3 hours ago

October 7, 2026

BlackPressUSA Newswire

International responses to Ghana-led UN resolutions declaring the transatlantic enslavemen the gravest crime against humanity

Special Reparations Edition of the Ghanian Envoy - Official Newsletter of the Minisrty of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Ghana

“From Accra to the Vatican” appears in The Ghanaian Envoy Special Edition on UN Resolution A/RES/80/250 — the first time a sovereign state has carried the Reparations Presentment to the Holy See into its official record

ACCRA, Ghana / CHICAGO, Illinois — October 7, 2026 — The Global Circle for Reparations and Healing today announced that its submission to Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “From Accra to the Vatican: A Call for a Global Plan of Action on Catholic Church Redress”, has been published in the Special Edition of The Ghanaian Envoy, the official newsletter of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Ghana. The 175-page edition, titled “Creating A New World,” documents the Ghana-led campaign that culminated on March 25, 2026, in United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/80/250, which declared the trafficking of enslaved Africans and the racialized chattel enslavement of Africans the gravest crime against humanity.

The Global Circle’s submission, authored by Co-Convener Kamm Howard, appears in Part V of the edition, “What Repair Must Now Mean,” at page 161. It shares the volume with statements by President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr. of Liberia, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of Namibia, President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye of Senegal, President Carlos Manuel Vila Nova of São Tomé and Príncipe, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley of Barbados, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, African Union Commissioner Amma Twum-Amoah, CARICOM Reparations Commission Chair Sir Hilary Beckles, Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, Dr. Julius Garvey, and Congressional Black Caucus Executive Director Vincent Evans, among others.

The submission traces the Global Circle’s delivery of the Reparations Presentment to the Holy See in Vatican City on July 18, 2022, the document’s subsequent use by the former Vice President of Costa Rica and the Vice President of Colombia in their engagements with Pope Francis, and the partial response contained in Pope Leo XIV’s May 2026 encyclical Magnifica Humanitas. It argues that while three of the Presentment’s seven demands have entered the Church’s official language in diluted form, four remain wholly unmet: rescission of the papal bulls that authorized African enslavement, the Church’s call upon other offending Western nations to make redress, the establishment of a joint Vatican–African Diaspora–African Papal Commission on Reparations and Healing, and a substantial financial commitment to repair. The submission asks Ghana to adopt the Presentment as the reference instrument for a Vatican track within the Accra Next Steps Commitments and to convene a first meeting of Global African reparationists toward a collective response.

“For four years the Presentment has been a civil society document carried by civil society hands,” said Kamm Howard, Co-Convener of the Global Circle and Commissioner of the National African American Reparations Commission. “Ghana has now placed it in the official record of a sovereign state, in a volume that opens with a President’s address to the General Assembly and closes by asking what repair must mean. That is not a courtesy. It is a signal to every government, every reparations commission, and every African Catholic that the claim against the Holy See belongs on the state agenda, and that the state which broke the deadlock at the United Nations is prepared to see it there.”

The significance of the publication extends beyond the Vatican file. The Presentment was created as a legal claims instrument by Howard in 2014 and first delivered to corporations and institutions in the United States, where it secured significant concessions. Its appearance in a foreign ministry’s official publication, translated and distributed in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian, establishes the reparations presentment as a recognized instrument of international reparatory diplomacy, one that other states and descendant communities can adopt without drafting a new framework of their own. The Global Circle has described this catalytic potential as the “N’namba Effect,” after the Evanston, Illinois, reparations initiative – led by N’nanba Robin Rue Simmons – that gave municipalities across the United States the model, permission, and courage to act.

“The Vatican told us in 2022 that it moves in fifteen-year increments,” Howard added. “Ghana has just demonstrated at the United Nations that a determined state can compress that timeline to a single vote. We are asking Ghana to do for the Church what it did for the General Assembly, and we are asking Global Africa to organize behind that ask with one document, one voice, and one set of demands.”

The Global Circle has written to President Mahama and Foreign Minister Ablakwa to express its gratitude and to propose that its Vatican and Interreligious Actors Working Group lead the first meeting on a collective Vatican response under the auspices of the Government of Ghana. The Global Circle has also formally advised the Congressional Black Caucus of the publication in connection with its pending request that the Caucus recognize the Presentment as the foundational document for reparations engagement with the Roman Catholic Church and join the Government of Ghana in this global call to action.

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About the Global Circle for Reparations and Healing

The Global Circle for Reparations and Healing was convened in 2022 to help build united global reparations front across Africa and its worldwide diaspora. In July 2022 the Global Circle delivered the Reparations Presentment to the Holy See in Vatican City. It co-organized Accra Summit I in August 2022 with the Government of Ghana and the Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund, and led the organization of Accra Summit II: Centering Healing Across Global Africa in March 2025 in partnership with the African Union. The Reparations Presentment to the Holy See is available in English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish at gcrh.org.

Media Contact

Global Circle for Reparations and Healing

Kamm Howard, Co-Convenor

[email protected] 773 520 0369

gcrh.org