Reconciliation is meant to not ignore the pain from the past but allow for change and growth. This series of posters exposes Europe’s dark colonialist crimes committed against Africa. Through these posters, we will acknowledge dark history so we can plan for a better future.

King Leopold II was the King of Belgium in the late 1800s. From 1890 to 1910 King Leopold controlled The Democratic Republic of Congo enslaving its people to work for natural resources found in the Congo such as rubber and ivory. In the process, the inhumane conditions killed an estimated 10 million people. Upon the world’s discovery, King Leopold destroyed evidence keeping this story unheard for many years. After Belgium’s departure from Congo,  they altered  Congolese history books stating that Leopold freed the Congolese from the slave trade. I share this piece of history to inform others so we don’t follow in its footsteps.

In 1884, the Berlin conference divided African nations into land for economic gain to European countries. Britain was granted Kenya along with many other counties. Fast forward years later, after being suppressed Kenyans developed the rebel group, Mau Mau. When Queen Elizabeth came to power in 1950 she saw the rise of this rebel group. While she was in power, Kenyans who rebelled against her were thrown in concentration camps. Roughly 1.5 million people were thrown in these  camps for 10 years being tortured and raped. Britain eventually destroyed all evidence of this, in an effort to erase it from history. I share this piece of history because it has been hidden, we must acknowledge then learn and grow from it.

The British museum houses artifacts dating back 2 million years ago. Today, the British museum houses hundreds of stolen artifacts. The most famous of these artifacts is the Benin bronzes, stolen from present-day Benin City, Nigeria. These artifacts were stolen in 1897 during the “Punitive Expedition” where 3,000 artifacts were stolen from the Benin kingdom. These bronzes are not just statues to the Benin people they serve as a form of historical document to them. Unfortunately, the majority of Benin members will never see these statues of their ancestors because they live thousands of miles away. I share this piece of history to reveal what happens in the modern day when we don’t learn from our past.