"Both nationally and internationally," says Viola Plummer, "we continue to mobilize on behalf of Reparations."

A broad coalition of groups throughout the U.S., explained Ms. Plummer, had been instrumental in helping to bring this issue before the UN World Conference Against Racism, in Durban, South Africa, three years ago. Among the results of that conference was the universal passage of a resolution that declared slavery, colonialism and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade as crimes against humanity, "and therefore," she adds, "are subject to Reparations. But please understand. This is not about somebody getting a check in the mail. Reparations means to say, first and foremost, that a wrong had been committed, that it must be acknowledged, and that the devastation caused by that wrong must be addressed."

Since the Durban conference, similar movements have been initiated by activists in Barbados, Jamaica, Haiti, South Africa, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Australia and elsewhere. Here, in the United States, a follow-up National Rally for Reparations was held in Washington DC in August 2002, and in an International Rally in front of the United Nations in September 2003.

The upcoming 2004 Long March through the Black Belt South, which will be kicking off on Saturday, July 24, with a national rally in Columbia, South Carolina, is the latest effort by a broad coalition of more than thirty activist, civic and religious organizations to explain the issues involved and to generate support for what has become an ever-growing grassroots movement.

The Jazz concert and community dialogue on May 8th, explained Ms. Plummer, is part of a national effort to draw more attention to the upcoming Long March. "We all need to dialogue around the importance of this march, and to update our brothers and sisters on the Reparations Movement. But equally important is this opportunity to once again demonstrate why we, at Sistas' Place, believe that culture is a weapon. Louis Reyes Rivera and The Jazzoets are a fine example of how culture and the social struggle come together, and they do it in a most beautiful way. If you've never heard Louis' poem on reparations, you need to. If you've never seen his band perform, you really ought to."

The Jazzoets is a septet of highly respected veteran musicians and poets, including master trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah, multi-instrumentalist and storyteller Atiba Kwabena Wilson, activist poet and violinist Ngoma, and the incredible team of Masujaa on guitar and Radu on bass, as well as talented percussionist Shawn Banks.

The Saturday night concert, Update & Reparations, begins at 9:00 pm. The suggested donation is $10.00, with proceeds going to the Long March Fund. For further information, call (718) 398-1766 [Sistas' Place, 456 Nostrand Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11216].