Doctor Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch was praised for his role as a plantation owner in Oscar-winning 12 Years A Slave, but few know that his family previously owned a slave plantation in Barbados in the 18th century – and now he and his family may be forced to pay damages . So it is the Barbados National Task Force on Reparations that wants to call on the descendants of plantation owners to compensate for their dark history and David Denny, who is the general secretary of the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration, believes that the money should go to improving hospitals and schools:
“Any descendants of white plantation owners who’ve benefited from the slave trade should be asked to pay reparations, including the Cumberbatch family. The money should be used to turn the local clinic into a hospital, support local schools, and improve infrastructure and housing .”
The Cumberbatch family, who allegedly owned 250 slaves in Barbados, were apparently compensated with a hefty sum of approximately 30 million kroner after slavery was abolished, and it remains to be seen whether the Cumberbatch clan will be forced to pay similar figures if they are convicted. What do you think about this? Will Cumberbatch atone for his family’s slavery connection?
