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The Big Payback
The Case for Reparations for Slavery and How They Would Work
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Brief Description
At the abolition of the slave trade two centuries ago, the British government paid huge amounts of compensation to slave-owners. Only in 2015 did British taxpayers stop paying off this debt. How is it that slave-owners were paid compensation from our taxes, yet the enslaved and...
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The Big Payback
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An eye-opening manifesto on why reparations are the only way for the UK to address racism by Black British Lives Matter writers Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder.
An eye-opening manifesto on why reparations are the only way for the UK to address racism by Black British Lives Matter writers Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder.
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Description
At the abolition of the slave trade two centuries ago, the British government paid huge amounts of compensation to slave-owners. Only in 2015 did British taxpayers stop paying off this debt.
How is it that slave-owners were paid compensation from our taxes, yet the enslaved and their families were not? Why should the descendants of former slave-owners still benefit from inherited wealth while the successors of the victims of slavery receive nothing, and may have even paid towards the debt of compensation through their taxes?
Beginning with these simple but startling questions, Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder explore the burning issue of how best we can resolve the inequality resulting from 400 years of the enslavement of African people and the ongoing racism still suffered by millions across the world.
Talking to reparation experts, economists, politicians, and anti-racism campaigners, including Bell Rebeiro-Addy, Robert Beckford, Kenneth Mohammed and Kehinde Andrews, they investigate how reparations can work, and how we can help to make them happen.
The Big Payback is an essential read for anyone seeking to understand and address the legacies of the past in our societies today.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780571380015
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 09 October 2025
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Faber & Faber
Edition: Main
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 135.0mm
Height: 216.0mm
Weight: 0g
Pages: 224
About the Author
Lenny Henry has been a comedian since the age of 16. He has risen from being a cult star on children's television to one of Britain's best-known and most celebrated comedians, as well as a writer, radio DJ, TV presenter, and award-winning actor. He is best-known for his appearances in TISWAS, Three of a Kind, The Lenny Henry Show, Hope & Glory, Lenny Henry in Pieces and Chef! Since co-founding Comic Relief in 1985, he has also been involved in every Red Nose Day night since 1988. He has received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Comedy Awards as well as the British Academy Television Special Award, and is a fellow of the Royal Television Society. Henry has a PhD in Media Arts, and in 2015 was awarded a knighthood for services to charity and drama. In 2018, BBC One aired The Lenny Henry Birthday Show to celebrate his career so far.
Together, with Marcus Ryder, they are the co-editors of Black British Lives Matter.
Marcus Ryder has over twenty-five years' experience working in television and journalism and is a leader on the issue of diversity in the media. He was previously the Chair of the Royal Television Society's Diversity Committee and was the head of BBC Scotland Current Affairs for nearly a decade. He is the recipient of a number of awards for his work, including multiple BAFTA Awards,and recently took up the position of Chair of RADA Council - the UK's leading drama school.
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