Memories of Sranang Anton de Kom as Epistemic Authority in the Reparations Debate

Abstract

The recent apology for slavery made by the Dutch king and the prime minister sparked debates on the possibility of reparations from the Netherlands to Suriname. These debates are often hindered by disagreement when it comes to the responsibility of the former coloniser, the amount of money that is involved and the question whether reparations should address injustices of the past or their related harms in the present. Epistemic injustices and epistemic reparations are underdeveloped concepts in this debate. Taking one another seriously as knowers is crucial before a sincere reparations debate can take place. As long as epistemic injustices remain unaddressed, there is no public space to acknowledge past and present harms that have originated from slavery and colonisation and which are perpetuated in modern-day racism. A structural understanding of the epistemic injustices of colonisation shows how we cannot address present racial injustices without referring to the past. Simultaneously, I will argue how addressing epistemic reparations has repercussions for the broader reparations debate. Specifically, I will read excerpts from Anton de Kom’s Wij slaven van Suriname as a counterstory to show how specific epistemic reparations change our perspective on historical injustices and can challenge dominant ideas regarding responsibility in the reparations debate.