In the latest move in the campaign for reparations, descendants of black slaves have filed lawsuits in New York and California, demanding corporations including Lloyd's of London pay back profits reaped from the work of their enslaved ancestors.
The suits, filed in federal courts in New York and San Francisco, according to court documents, are to be followed by similar suits in Illinois, Texas and Louisiana.
The legal action is the latest attempt to have corporations recognise and repay profits they reaped from slavery. Slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865.
The suits, targeting 12 corporations altogether, follow similar actions filed in New York in March, which are pending. They are a counterpart to a long-running campaign for the US government to pay reparations for slavery, which drew more than 2,000 people to a demonstration in Washington last month.
In each of the suits, the plaintiffs charge that corporations are guilty of conspiracy, human rights violations and unjust enrichment from the "immoral and inhumane institution of slavery," according to the court documents.
The documents show 12 corporations, mostly in finance, railroads and tobacco are named in the suits.
The suits demand access to firms' records to ascertain what money was made from slavery, and the payback of illicit profits. The suits also claim damages, but do not name a figure.