Posted on 05/29/2012 12:30:03 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Reparations.
That single word has the power to bring forth memories of slave screams, blood-shed, lynching, raping and the unrepentant theft of generations of successful Black families by the United States of America.
It also has the power to breed resentment, as the 40 acres and a mule that Black Americans were promised by General William Sherman at the close of the American Civil War were snatched away by President Andrew Johnson and returned to their White owners.
Watch the 2008 presidential hopefuls debate whether African Americans should receive reparations here:
(VIDEO AT LINK)
Primarily left landless, fragmented, disconnected from our culture, and uneducated with little-to-no chance of gainful employment, the dregs of slavery and Jim and Jane Crow continue to poison our communities in both tangible and intangible ways.
During her investigation into the wealth — or lack thereof — in the African-American community, CNN’s Soledad O’Brien spoke with Rev. DeForest B. Soaries of First Baptist Church in Lincoln, New Jersey, who made the sharp correlation that “debt is slavery”:
“When I’m paying last month’s bills with next month’s check, that’s slavery. When I ‘m writing a check hoping that it doesn’t bounce, or when I pull out my credit card praying that it’s not rejected, then I’m living in financial bondage.”
Watch Minister Louis Farrakhan discuss what America and Europe owe to Blacks here:
(VIDEO AT LINK)
What becomes clear when the imbalanced economic scales in this country are tilted further by institutionalized racism, is that we are still very much living within a system that profited immensely from the blood, sweat, and tears of slave labor, while refusing to make good on the loan of our livelihoods and collective economic value. According to Harper’s magazine (November, 2000), the United States stole an estimated $100 trillion dollars for 222,505,049 hours of forced labor between 1619 and 1865 with a compounded interest of 6 percent.
In lieu of these tragic numbers, Dr. John Hope Franklin, renowned historian and author of “From Slavery to Freedom,” voices his contempt for the pseudo-apologies that the U.S. government has given for an institution that has left Black America in a perpetual race, with many having no idea why we seem to never make significant and collective economic strides:
People are running around apologizing for slavery, he said. What about that awful period since slavery — Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and all the rest? And what about the enormous wealth that was built up by Black labor? I think that’s little to pay for the gazillions that Black people built up — the wealth of this country — with their labor, and now you’re going to say, ‘I’m sorry I beat the hell out of you for all these years’? That’s not enough.
It’s definitely not enough.
In a system that relies heavily on what many consider to be Dixiecratic handouts, vilifying those who are forced to accept them, while simultaneously and condescendingly stating that, “Rising tides lift all boats,” this country has to reach a point where reparations is not viewed as a joke or some unimaginable occurrence. If the boats have historical, psychological, and economic holes blown through them by Jim Crow and Uncle Sam, rising tides without life rafts do nothing but drown us deeper into debt.
In his 1970 book, “By Any Means Necessary,” Malcolm X (aka El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) spoke of reparations not as a choice, or a last resort, but as the only way to rectify the inhumane atrocities committed against Black Americans:
If you are the son of a man who had a wealthy estate and you inherit your father’s estate, you have to pay off the debts that your father incurred before he died. The only reason that the present generation of White Americans are in a position of economic strength…is because their fathers worked our fathers for over 400 years with no pay…. We were sold from plantation to plantation like you sell a horse, or a cow, or a chicken, or a bushel of wheat…. All that money…is what gives the present generation of American Whites the ability to walk around the earth with their chest out…like they have some kind of economic ingenuity. Your father isn’t here to pay. My father isn’t here to collect. But I’m here to collect and you’re here to pay.
In the next weeks, NewsOne will speak with Black leaders on the topic of reparations and how exactly the concept can be contextualized in a contemporary narrative. More importantly, we will ask for feedback from our readers on the possibility of reparations and what we are willing to do – if anything — to ensure that it comes to fruition.
What do you think?
Should Black America receive reparations from the U.S. government for slavery?
Yes, absolutely.
No, that time has passed.
Reparations were paid in blood in the Civil War. Relatives died wearing Union Blue to free them.That is the correct answer.
Reparations already paid since 1965 - about $7 trillion - are
more than enough.
If Farrakhan wants to talk about territory I’d think about it, but only if approved in a bi- community plebescite.
they have already gotten decades of welfare
First class one way ticket to any country of their choice in africa, $100,000 in cash per adult, $25,000 per bastard, no returns allowed forever, not even visits.
They already did. Their names are Barack Hussein Obama (maybe), and Eric Holder.
If White America is assigned collective responsibility for slavery, even those of us whose ancestors were never involved, then Black America should be assigned collective responsibility for all black crime.
Yes. Anyone that can prove their parents were slaves should get 40 acres and a mule. Then we can end this foolishness and the rest of the blacks can start looking forward.
To add a bit more irony to the pot, certain people of color, mainly the ‘progressive’ black-skinned ones in academia, claim Nimrod as evidence of the past glory and superiority of black-skinned people.
But since they clearly see slavery as a very great evil, which it is, they ought not be surprised by the fall of Babylon, the ancient progenitor of the first “God is dead” movement, slavery, nature worship, Mystery Religions, secret initiations, intercourse with disembodied intelligences, hedonism and more.
Again, let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
Check your family tree. You may be in the same boat as I am and have ancesters on both sides there. I’ll have to pay myself.
I don’t believe that my people, late arriving 20th century Danish immigrants, owe the African-Americans anything! In fact, I’d be willing to match my family’s contributions to this nation, and, its security, against any family!
From my limited perspective, 40 acres and a mule won’t do anyone, not interested in hard work of the “manual labor” kind, a darn bit of good. Just seems to be just another empty symbol! Besides, has anyone ever been around horse flies and manure on a hot summer day!!??
No, I say, examine the 60 years of really crappy public policy (social engineering) that has driven black men from their homes and families. Examine policy that rewards “out of wedlock births”, unacceptably high abortion rates and the entitlement mentality over policies fostering a sense of self-worth, thrift, modesty, self-control and the value of human life!
Like Elizabeth Warren I’m 1/32 indian so I’m off the hook.
Well I used to be dead set against any such notion but recently I've Warmed to the idea BUT I think we should give Reparations to anyone who feels they got a Raw Deal here in the USA.
Those Reparations would be given in the form of a Plane ticket to any country they choose and 50K cash. The only requirement to be eligible for the reparations is that they officially renounce their citizenship and they are never allowed to return here.
Now it sounds costly but in the long run it would be sooo much cheaper and eliminate over half the problems we have here in America.
Democrats have already blocked reparations for blacks.
What’s the point in bringing it up now?
One million dollars each, plus a free one-way ticket to the African paradise of their choice.
However, they must renounce their US citizenship and leave their American passport when they turn in their boarding pass.
Get out of my head!
That's nearly word-for-word what my response was going to be, but I was going to offer first-class accommodations on their chosen method of travel.
Reparations?
He!l no.
A large number of black freemen owned slaves themselves.
How do you sort our who was slave and slaveowner?
There were also several all black confederate regiments. In the Northern Black Regiments, the officers were white; in the Southern Black Regiments, the officers were black.
Nevr heard of a black confederate regiment? Try the Louisiana Native Guard. Actually there were 2 Louisiana native Guard Regiments, one fought for the Confederacy and the other fought for the Union.
No reparations.
Any black who was promised 40 acres and a mule should get them.
Then they should be back-billed for the trillions of dollars in welfare expenses they’ve cost since Lyndon Johnson drove them back onto the plantation.
How about a one way ticket to the African nation of their choice?
Hell no. Through trillions of dollars of welfare transfer payments that “debt” has been paid long ago.
I have long advocated doing a financial analysis of how much better blacks are in the U.S. than they would be if there hadn’t been slavery. Take the average wage for blacks in the U.S. and subtract that from the average wage of blacks in Africa. Write a check for the difference and STFU.
Should "White" America Get Reparations?
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