Georgetown, Guyana — Community organizer Kibwe Copeland is leading Guyana’s grassroots engagement in the regional reparations movement, using a relational organizing strategy aimed at securing formal government recognition and parliamentary support.
Copeland serves as Guyana’s national organizer within the Repair Campaign, an independent Caribbean movement that supports the work of the CARICOM Reparations Commission. The commission was established by Caribbean heads of government to advance a coordinated case for reparatory justice linked to the region’s history of enslavement and colonial exploitation.
At a recent public forum, Copeland outlined a volunteer-driven organizing model designed to rapidly expand public participation. The strategy begins with a core group of 10 volunteers, each tasked with recruiting 10 additional supporters, creating a growing national network focused on public education, advocacy, and political engagement.
“Our goal is to build visible, organized support that will help us to achieve our local and regional goals,” Copeland said. “Reparations must move from discussion to formal recognition, including support in Parliament.”
As part of the campaign, Copeland is also sharing information on a local reparations petition calling for Guyana’s government to formally engage with the regional reparations framework. Citizens are encouraged to support the effort by signing the online petition, accessible via a QR code circulated at public meetings and community outreach events. [click here to sign]
Copeland emphasized that reparations should not be narrowly understood as individual compensation, but as a long-term process of repair that includes education, economic development, institutional strengthening, and psychological restoration.
Organizers say the relational approach is intended to ground the reparations movement in everyday communities, ensuring it reflects broad public support rather than elite advocacy alone. Further outreach activities and town-hall style discussions are planned in the coming months.
With regional momentum increasing, Copeland’s organizing effort positions Guyana to play a more active role in shaping the Caribbean’s reparations agenda at both the national and CARICOM levels.
