Imagine making a new friend, and upon walking into their home, you notice something strange; their home is riddled with your family’s photos and heirlooms that have been passed down for generations. You are furious and demand that the pieces be returned! They insist that those documents and pieces are important antiquities of history and, thus, must be honored and displayed in their home. Sound familiar? Like your new “friend” who illegally obtained your prized familial possessions and physical representations of deep and rich history, Western museums have a habit of sinking their claws into artifacts stolen from all over the continent of Africa and refusing to return them.  

Through means of colonialism, many residents of African countries were thrust into violence, losing their freedom and lives. Unfortunately, Western countries perpetuate this colonial legacy by proudly displaying the very stolen artifacts that serve as evidence of their colonial crimes. Even as much as 90% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s objects are held outside of Africa. Hundreds of thousands of illegally acquired objects like masks, sculptures, weapons, ceremonial dresses, jewelry, and toys lay in Western institutions with little hope of being returned. Europe has the largest collection of African artifacts. One of the most well-known of these artifacts is the Rosetta Stone. Described as “a symbol western cultural power,” The Rosetta Stone is an Egyptian stone slab from 196 B.C. that was the key to understanding ancient hieroglyphics and unlocking history that was thought to have been forever lost. After being discovered in 1799 by the French during an excavation, the Rosetta Stone was soon stolen by the British just two years later and has resided in the British Museum ever since 1802, despite repeated pleas and commands for the Stone to be returned to Egypt where it rightfully belongs. 

Fortunately, there is a swing in the right direction as Western institutions begin returning these objects, causing pressure to accumulate for other institutions to follow suit. For instance, more than 1000 Benin Bronzes have been returned to Nigeria after being in British possession since 1897 after a violent military expedition. The bronze relics were crafted between the 15th and 19th centuries and exemplified the historically talented artistry and engineering of Nigeria. With the return of the Benin Bronzes, a previously missing piece of Nigerian history has been restored and the British have taken a step closer to reconciling with a “dark colonial history.” 

Similarly, on April 20, 2024, the UK decided to return 32 gold and silver artifacts to Ghana looted over 150 years ago from the Asante King during conflicts in the 19th century. The Ghanaian objects are housed in the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum since the 19th century and there have been many efforts to reclaim these objects. In an ironic twist, due to the British Museum Act 1963 that prohibits removing artifacts unless there is a direct issue regarding state or authenticity, the Asante Kingdom treasures will be only loaned to Ghana for six years and then returned to the British. This highly conditional form of reparation is not uncommon; France has also weighed in on the conditions of “healing a colonial past with Africa without turning it into an act of repentance.”

Countless African artifacts continue to be held in Western institutions. These objects represent far more than just aesthetically pleasing pieces of art. Stolen objects create a gap where cultural, religious, spiritual, and historical knowledge are out of reach for people all across the continent. This has resulted in a broken identity with the pieces missing. As TED Fellow Jim Chuchu states: “There can be no collective identity without collective memory.”

There is a common misconception that Africans, and Black people in general, have no history. Even worse, their historical roots began with colonialism, invasions, and slavery as if they were historically irrelevant until first contact with White people. 

It is normalized behaviors like ogling stolen artifacts in museums that perpetuate this fabricated reality and further erase African history. Reparations must continue to be made by  Western institutions and, at the very least, acknowledgments must be made through the accurate labeling of collections.