named programs · 4 · from sources
What they call their work
3X Freedom 2 Film Series
Short film series exploring restitution, cultural survival, and ancestral memory through three films: They Belong to All of Us, Mudfish Legacy, and The New Bronze Makers.
Benin Bronze-Making Fellowship
Artist-training program that teaches Afrodescendants traditional and contemporary bronze-making techniques while grounding production in the historical truth of the bronzes' origins in transatlantic human trafficking.
Benin Kingdom Museum (BKM)
Initiative to establish a museum in Harlem, NY, and future locations in the UK, Brazil, and the Caribbean, serving as a cultural and educational hub for Afrodescendants to reconnect with ancestral history through replicas, art, and DNA-based reconnection.
RSG Music Group
Music initiative launching with Blood on the Bronzes, a reggae music video that uses entertainment to educate about the history of the Benin Bronzes and cultural restitution.
activities · 7 groups
What they do
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Civil Rights Advocacy & Litigation 4 activities
- Advocates for corporate accountability for slavery-era practicesSupports activist campaigns seeking corporate apologies and restitution for slavery-era practices, including supporting Deadria Farmer-Paellmann’s work and initiating legal cases against corporations based on human rights and consumer fraud claims.
- Conducts multimedia education and outreach on reparatory justiceEngages in multi-media education and outreach initiatives to raise awareness and promote reparatory justice, targeting communities and institutions complicit in historical injustices.
- Files human rights and genocide compensation lawsuitsInitiates legal cases, including a genocide compensation lawsuit grounded in the UN Genocide Convention and supported by DNA and historical trade data, to seek justice for descendants of enslaved Africans.
- Supports boycotts of corporations with historical ties to slaverySupports boycott actions targeting corporations such as Aetna and JPMorgan Chase due to their historical ties to the slave trade and ongoing reparations demands.
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Artist Legacy Preservation and Documentation 1 activity
- Creates NFT and merchandise projects for cultural and restorative justiceCo-launches AfroKrypto, a limited-edition NFT and merchandise project transforming the legacy of Maangamizi manilla into art, identity, and justice expressions in collaboration with the Afrodescendant Fund.
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Artist Residencies and Studio Programs 1 activity
- Launches and operates the Benin Bronze-Making FellowshipLaunches and operates the Benin Kingdom Museum Bronze-Making Fellowship, training Afrodescendant artists from the U.S., Jamaica, Haiti, and Brazil in traditional and modern bronze-making techniques to support cultural restitution and museum development.
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Indigenous and Diaspora Cultural Preservation 1 activity
- Operates the Benin Kingdom Museum for Afrodescendant educationRuns the Benin Kingdom Museum to provide educational programming that connects Afrodescendants with the history of the Benin Bronzes and their ties to transatlantic human trafficking.
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Documentary Film Production 1 activity
- Produces and releases original music and film for cultural restitution educationProduces and releases original reggae music videos such as "Blood on the Bronzes" and co-organizes film screenings like "3X Freedom 2" to explore the history of the Benin Bronzes and cultural restitution through edutainment.
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Historical and Genealogical Research 1 activity
- Researches and publishes on reparations history and movement pioneersPublishes timelines and distillations on reparations and highlights early pioneers of the slavery reparations movement to advance public understanding.
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Uncategorized 8 activities
- Administers DNA testing and family reunification for descendants of enslaved AfricansRuns the African Family Reunion initiative, administering DNA tests to African nationals and matching results with descendants of enslaved Africans to reunite families separated by the transatlantic slave trade, including a cousin-matching service launched in 2021.
- Advocates for legislative and policy changes on slavery disclosure and repatriationContributed to the passage of slavery-era disclosure laws starting with California in 2000 and provided research and community perspectives to support Illinois House Resolution 211 on Benin Bronze repatriation.
- Asserts and promotes the economic value and legacy of Benin BronzesAdvocates that the Benin Bronzes represent transformed slave trade profits and stolen legacy wealth with an estimated $30 billion current value, asserting ownership rights for descendants of enslaved Africans.
- Challenges institutional repatriation policies through legal actionFiles legal petitions, including a writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court, to challenge the Smithsonian Institution’s repatriation policies and to toll statutes of limitations for human rights claims by descendants of enslaved Africans.
- Conducts scientific and historical research on Benin BronzesAcquired an authentic early 17th-century Benin Bronze cockerel and initiated a comprehensive scientific investigation into its provenance and historical significance.
- Consults museums on revising narratives about Benin BronzesProvides direct consultation to institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Humboldt Forum, Museum Rietberg, and Weltkulturen Museum to revise historical narratives about the Benin Bronzes to include their origins in the transatlantic slave trade.
- Organizes public campaigns against Benin Bronze transfersOrganizes advocacy campaigns, including email, phone, and public actions, urging the Smithsonian Board of Regents and the Vice President to halt the transfer of Benin bronzes and advocating for descendant ownership.
- Produces and facilitates ancestral bronze artworks for cultural remembranceSupported the creation of the first Oba Head by fellowship-trained artisans, symbolizing ancestral remembrance and cultural collaboration through the Benin Kingdom Museum Bronze-Making Fellowship.
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financials · form 990EZ · fy2023
revenue
Total revenue$0
Contributions & grants$0—
Program service revenue$0—
Investment income$0—
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$34K
Program expenses—
Admin / overhead—
Fundraising—
Salaries & benefits$0
Grants paid out$0
balance sheet
Total assets$592
Cash—
Investments—
Liabilities—
Net assets$592
2 years on record · 2022–2023 · YoY revenue -100.0%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2023
Who runs it
board members · 3
- Deadria Farmer-Paellmann — Executive Director
- Karen Wallace — Board Member
- Kenya Marion — Board Member
relationships · 34
Who they work with
- Aetna Partner — Target of boycott action related to historical ties to the slave trade
- African Ancestry Partner — Utilizes DNA test results from African Ancestry to support genocide compensation litigation.
- Afrodescendant Fund Partner — Co-launched the AfroKrypto NFT and merchandise project to bridge art, identity, and justice.
- Afrodescendant Trust Fund Partner — Co-launched the second cohort of the Benin Bronze-Making Fellowship to train cultural artists in bronze-making.
- Atlanta Daily World Partner — Collaborated on publishing a reparations timeline.
- Benin Kingdom Partner — Collaborated with the Restitution Study Group on the Bronze-Making Fellowship and spiritual recognition of the Oba Head creation.
- Benin Kingdom Museum Network — Flagship cultural initiative of the Restitution Study Group focused on education, fellowship programs, and artistic reconnection with Benin Bronze history.
- Benin Kingdom Museum Partner — Co-organizes cultural programs and film screenings, including the Cannes preview of 3X Freedom 2 and the Bronze-Making Fellowship.
- Benin Kingdom Museum Partner — Collaborates with the Benin Kingdom Museum, as evidenced by shared leadership and joint advocacy efforts.
- California Senator Tom Hayden Partner — Collaborated to draft and pass slavery-era disclosure legislation in California.
- Decolonising the Archive Partner — Partnered with the Restitution Study Group to support archival recovery, public memory, and inclusion of Afrodescendant perspectives in cultural programming.
- DistroKid Partner — Distributes official merchandise and music for RSG Music Group.
- Earl Pinto Partner — Produced a video on Queen Mother Audley Moore featured by the organization.
- Friends of the African Union Partner — Participated in the kickoff event for the African Family Reunion at the United Nations Ark of Return on June 19, 2015.
- Humboldt Forum Partner — Consulted by the Restitution Study Group to correct historical narratives about the Benin bronzes.
- JPMorgan Chase Partner — Target of boycott action related to student loans and historical reparations
- Maangamizi Educational Trust Partner — Collaborated with the Restitution Study Group to identify candidates for the UK Benin Kingdom Museum Bronze-Making Fellowship and advance reparatory justice initiatives.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art Partner — Collaborated with the Restitution Study Group to revise the historical narrative of the Benin bronzes in the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing.
- Miranda Booker Perry Partner — Authored an article on Callie House and Isaiah H. Dickerson featured by the organization.
- Museum Rietberg Partner — Collaborates to include Restitution Study Group's perspective on the slave trade origins of the Benin Bronzes in its exhibition.
- Museum Rietberg Partner — Consulted by the Restitution Study Group to correct historical narratives about the Benin bronzes.
- Myself, My Family, and/or Organization Partner — Entity submitting endorsement in support of Restitution Study Group's claim, with name(s) required to be specified
- National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) Partner — Engaged in direct dialogue with the Restitution Study Group following advocacy, marking the first official meeting after two years of outreach.
- New Future Foundation (NFF) Partner — Collaborated with the Restitution Study Group to launch the African Family Reunion at the United Nations Ark of Return on Juneteenth 2015.
- Organization of Tribal Unity (OTU) Network — Division of the Restitution Study Group that initiated the African Family Reunion program.
- Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Government — Litigated reparations cases before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which reversed a lower court dismissal.
- Smithsonian Institution Government — Subject of advocacy and legal scrutiny regarding the transfer of Benin bronzes
- Smithsonian Institution Partner — Engaged in legal action challenging the Smithsonian's repatriation policy regarding the Benin Bronzes.
- TransAtlantic Slave Trade Database Partner — Uses research from the TransAtlantic Slave Trade Database to support genocide compensation litigation.
- UNICEF Partner — Participated in the kickoff event for the African Family Reunion at the United Nations Ark of Return on June 19, 2015.
+ 4 more
strategies · 5
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Artistic and Edutainment Engagement for Public Education and Healingmethodology: edutainmentBy combining music, film, poetry, and dance into multidisciplinary "edutainment" experiences, the organization advances public education and emotional healing around cultural restitution because artistic expression increases engagement, empathy, and accessibility to complex historical narratives.
- Digital Replication and Access as Democratic Reclamationmethodology: educational_replication_through_3d_scanningBy using 3D scanning and replica production, the organization democratizes access to cultural heritage for Afrodescendant communities, enabling educational outreach and identity reclamation because physical and symbolic access to ancestral artifacts supports healing even when full repatriation is not yet achieved.
- Genealogical Reconnection as Healingmethodology: genealogical-dna-matchingBy matching DNA test results of African nationals with descendants of enslaved Africans, the organization facilitates family reunification across the diaspora because biological and ancestral reconnection serves as a powerful mechanism for healing the ruptures caused by the transatlantic slave trade.
- Heirs-Centered Cultural Stewardship and Repatriationmethodology: heirs-centered_restitutionBy asserting legal standing and access rights for descendants of enslaved Africans in cultural repatriation decisions, and promoting inclusive or joint stewardship of artifacts like the Benin Bronzes, the organization advances justice because descendant communities must be central to interpreting and preserving their own heritage.
- Reparatory Justice Through Cultural and Financial Restitutionmethodology: reparatory_justiceBy advancing reparatory justice frameworks that integrate cultural restitution, truth-telling, and financial redress, the organization seeks to heal historical harms against Afrodescendant communities because material return, ancestral reconnection, and community self-determination are essential to meaningful repair.