Descendants of Holocaust victims have received compensation

"Similar suits will be filed all over the country in the coming months."

Mr Barber, a former deputy executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, described the suit as "a debt owed to the descendants of slaves".

"Certain corporations benefited from the use of stolen labour and built their profits and wealth on the backs of enslaved Africans," he said.

"It is finally time for them to account for these historical injustices and to pay back the monies unjustly acquired by their actions."

Holocaust precedent

Mr Fagan has previously been involved in legal actions against German companies and Swiss banks that benefited from the Holocaust.

The courts have allowed the descendants of Holocaust victims to benefit, providing an arguable precedent for the slavery cases.

But compensation for slavery is a very controversial issue in the United States.

Supporters insist a settlement is necessary as the suffering was so great.

But opponents argue that that the events concerned happened too long ago.