Deadria Farmer-Paellmann Provides an Update on Restitution Study Group's Work for Slavery Justice, including the Status of the Benin Bronze Suit Against the Smithsonian Institution

Warfare of Art & Law Podcast

Send us a text

Cover Photo by Nils Paellmann
0:00 Restitution Study Group (RSG) Executive Director Deadria Farmer-Paellmann

1:30 overview of suit and issues raised

4:30 Prof. Tobias Skowronek’s findings on the metals contained in the manillas

7:00 Dismissal of suit against Smithsonian based on mootness

7:55 court order that Plaintiffs conceded points and waived arguments

8:45 ruling in OK reparations case for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

10:30 Nigerian declaration by outgoing President Buhari

12:00 critical argument that transfer was ultra vires

13:00 Administrative Procedure Act - failure to hold public hearing on ‘ethical transfers’ creates First Amendment issue

15:00 opinion on Nigeria’s position

17:00 DNA research as to descendants from Esan People from Benin Kingdom

19:00 Benin Kingdom’s enslavement of their females

20:15 Manchester Museum’s 2023 repatriation to Australia’s Aboriginal Anindilyakwa community of Groote Eylandt

21:00 change in narratives offered by Frankfurt’s Museum of World Cultures and Berlin’s Humboldt Museum
22:45 ancestral dedications at institutions holding Benin Bronzes

23:30 Benin Kingdom Museum in Harlem, NY

25:15 underreporting on lawsuit

26:00 shock about value of Benin Bronzes - a classic Wakanda story at end of first Black Panther film

28:20 potential for justice in US lower federal courts and in SCOTUS

31:00 narrative attached to the Benin Bronzes

33:30 Illinois State Rep. Carol Ammons - Joint chairwoman of Illinois Legislative Black Caucus meeting with Chicago's Field Museum

34:30 NY Legislator involved in work of RSG
Please share your comments and/or questions at [e-mail]
To hear more episodes, please visit Warfare of Art and Law podcast's website.
Music by Toulme.
To view rewards for supporting the podcast, please visit Warfare's Patreon page.
To leave questions or comments about this or other episodes of the podcast and/or for information about joining the 2ND Saturday discussion on art, culture and justice, please message me at [e-mail].
Thanks so much for listening!
© Stephanie Drawdy [2024]

Chapters

1. Art, Law, and Restitution Controversy (00:00:00)

2. Challenges in Repatriation of Benin Bronzes (00:12:07)

3. The Fight for Historical Truth (00:31:04)