The Philosophy Department hosted a major conference on October 18 and 19, 2002 on the moral issues arising from slavery. The conference was probably the best-attended of all the department's conferences in recent years, with standing room only (and very little of that) in the McFall Gallery for most of the sessions.

For some sessions, the crowd was so large, that they were directed to West Hall, where they were able to watch the talk via a live video link. As expected, when dealing with an emotionally-charged issue such as this, the temperature of the discussion rose a little at times, but this served to show what a vital issue this is.

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In addition to the talks, there was a lot of opportunities for professors, students and people from outside the academic community to interact and exchange views.

The speakers and papers were:

• David Lyons (Law and Philosophy, Boston University)
  "Unfinished Business: Racial Junctures in US History and Their Legacy"
  
• Barbara Hall (Philosophy, Georgia State University)
  "Absolving Slavery: Naming Our Price" Or "Why Reparations Can Only Be Utilitarian in Nature"
• Lucius T. Outlaw, Jr. (African American Studies and Philosophy, Vanderbilt University)
  "The Moral Legacy of Slavery"
• Michael Ridge (Philosophy, University of Edinburgh)
  "Giving the Dead Their Due"
• Tommy Lott (Philosophy, San Jose State University)
  "The Wrongness of Slavery"
• Robert Fullinwider (Center for Philosophy and Public Policy, University of Maryland)
  "Slavery, Reparations, and Moral Clarity"
• Bernard Boxill (Philosophy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
  "The Case for Black Reparations based on the Unjust enrichment of Whites from Slavery"
• Charles Mills (Philosophy, University of Illinois, Chicago)
  "Racial Exploitation and the Wages of Whiteness"
• Howard McGary (Philosophy, Rutgers University)
  "Forgiveness, Reconciliation and Reparations: The Quest for Democratic Equality"
• Gerald Horne (History, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
  "Race for Power: The Global Balance of Power & Reparations"

Anyone wishing to have a copy of any of these papers should send an email message to Ian Young.

The success of this conference was due to the work of many, but there was general agreement special mention should go to Carolyn Council, whose idea it was in the first place to stage the conference. She also provided much of the impetus all the way along. There are plans to host another conference in Fall 2004 or Spring 2005.

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