In the museum scene from Black Panther, Killmonger expresses the desire to have the Wakandan artifact returned to him. When the museum guide said that these items were not for sale, he retaliated with the rhetorical question about how her ancestors originally obtained the artifact. This scene raises the debate on whether museums should return artifacts that were acquired “illegally”.

The fact that many African artifacts are displayed in European museums rather than their place of origin is due to the aftereffects of colonialism. It is true that the understanding of the culture and history behind these artifacts are harder to understand since their roots of origin are so far away. However, it is also true that these European museums treat such artifacts with care and attempt to recreate an environment that resembles their places of origin.

This connects with Fred Wilson’s work, Guarded View. Guarded View was to give representation to the identities of museum guards, expressing that they weren’t just there as a part of the museum. The same holds true for the desire for African artifacts to be returned to them. In these European museums, the African artifacts are only appreciated as art pieces rather than for their identity and culture.

In terms of this debate, while I do think that the African artifacts should be returned back to their origins, I do not think that this should be done immediately. This is because these European museums account much of their revenues to tourists who visit their museums to see these artifacts. Thus, the immediate return of these artifacts will negatively influence these museums since they have allocated a large number of resources in order to for the exhibits to fit well in the museum. Thus, the immediate return of such exhibits would create a sudden vacancy in the museum and would surely damage both the museum’s reputation and revenue. Furthermore, it is much more accessible for people around the globe to visit European museums since they are well-known and have a strong tourism industry. As such, the artifacts are better appreciated by more people as is. Nevertheless, the “rightful owners” of such artifacts are their creators and if such artifacts were to be placed back in their homes, their meanings can be easier understood since they will be placed in the correct cultural situation.

In conclusion, I agree with the solution that the British Museum is proposing, but with a shorter time frame such as 50 years rather than 150 years While this still sounds like a long time, this allows the British museum to transition from displaying the African artifacts to other exhibits and allocating the appropriate resources to do so. At the same time, this gives time for Africa to allocate its resources to prepare for the return of their artifacts by making their land more tourist-friendly by offering more hotels and other tourism services closer to museums. This will minimize the damage to the European economies while allowing the African economies to maximize the tourism sector upon the return of their artifacts.

While it may take time for both sides to come to a compromise as the Africans would like their artifacts back sooner while the Europeans would want to keep them longer, eventually we will find a solution that works for both sides.