Free Republic

The Senate voted to apologize for slavery on June 18. The House apologized last summer. The first family -- descendants of Africans, of enslaved Africans and of slave-holders -- visited a slave fort in Ghana. These were historic occasions, and they occasioned the kind of hue and cry that always accompany the subject of slavery and whether we still need to reckon with it. I believe we do need more reckoning, and a little more love and a little more logic would help that process. Logic first: There's this quasi-math problem in which things don't add up. Many African-Americans naturally...

Oprah, a black woman, is the richest and most influential woman in America and possibly the world. Michael Jackson's memorial service merited live coverage by a large number of television networks. Did I mention that the president of the United States of America is a black man? With blacks only 13% of the U.S. population, none of these extraordinary black achievements could have happened without tremendous support from white America. So, when will white America be off the hook for sins of the past? When will Democrat pitchmen and women, such as Janeane Garofalo, cease selling the myth that America...

Obama's Stealth Reparations   By Paul SperryFrontPageMagazine.com | Tuesday, October 28, 2008 While he was an Illinois state senator, Barack Obama told a Chicago radio show host that he sought "major redistributive change" for the benefit of fellow blacks. He was speaking in the context of the civil rights movement, and how it had fallen short of "economic justice." Although John McCain and other Republicans are afraid to say it, his remarks can only be interpreted to mean one thing: economic reparations for slavery. This is yet another example of Obama's lack of candor and deception about his true...

Voters may not say it out loud but pollsters back it up: racism is a lingering, significant factor in the 2008 presidential race that could elect the first black American to the White House. Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has consistently portrayed himself as the candidate of all Americans, not a champion of the African-American minority, even as he plays up how proud he is of his heritage as the son of a white woman from Kansas and a black father from Kenya. The Illinois senator, 47, earlier this year said racism was an issue the United States could not...

Greetings of IMANI (FAITH) President McKinney: May our Divine Creator and Beloved Ancestors find you and the extended family in the best of spirit and health. Welcome back to the land of the original OHLONE people, to what is currently called the “california bay area.” It is so disappointing not to be able to greet you personally this weekend—when WE are commemorating the birthdays of freedom fighters EL HAJJ MALIK EL SHABAZZ (Brother Minister Malcolm X), Mother Yuri Kochiyama and HO CHI MINH—due to a previously-scheduled family commitment. However, it was a pleasure to speak to you briefly after the...

Harare, Zimbabwe (AHN) - Zimbabwe will not turn over former Former Former Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Miriam, despite his conviction of genocide. William Nhara, a spokesperson for President Robert Mugabe's government, says, "As a comrade of our struggle, Comrade Mengistu and his government played a key and commendable role during our struggle for independence and no one can dispute that." "The judgment is an Ethiopian judgment and will not affect his status in Zimbabwe. As far as we know there is no extradition treaty between Harare and Addis Ababa." Mengistu, who has been living in exile in Zimbabwe since he...

A time for war Posted: August 2, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Alan Keyes The battle against Hezbollah threatens to expose the hollow reality of the Bush administration's conduct of the war against terrorism. In the wake of 9-11, Bush boldly and properly identified the enemy as terrorism itself. He boldly and properly challenged the nations of the world to understand the deadly threat it represents to any semblance of international order and community. He boldly and properly excluded the possibility of neutrality, making it clear that every nation would have to choose which side it was on: for or...

Congressman Bobby Rush, D-Chicago, may be looking for a new home. Not voluntarily, however. From NBC 5.com: Chicago congressman Bobby Rush is the target of a mortgage foreclosure lawsuit. The suit alleges Rush has failed to make payments on his South Calumet Avenue home since July. The three-story 3,400-square-foot home is valued at $215,000. Rush and his wife run the Englewood Community Development Corp. and the congressman has used political campaign funds to support the church where he is a pastor, NBC5 reported. Rush calls the foreclosure action "a challenge that has been rectified." Interesting. Chicagoans send this guy to...

Looks like Dr. Harvette Grey, head of the DePaul Cultural Center, is up to some chicanery in publicizing Ward Churchill's upcoming hate rants at DePaul next week. Sent my way by an anonymous tipster: Old listing: (I added the bold print.) October 20, 2005 Lecture: Ward Churchill -Open to DePaul Community (5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., Student Center 314-A) October 21, 2005 Multicultural Human Rights Education Workshop (2:00 p.m.--4:30 p.m., Student Center 314-B) -Ward Churchill For Student Organizations Only Cached URL: http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:c9HKxOXFAgEJ:studentaffairs.depaul.edu/culturalcenter/events.html+&hl=en&client=firefox-a New listing: October 20, 2005 Lecture: Ward Churchill -Open to DePaul Community (5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., Student...

    Proclamation of Amnesty and Pardon Granted to All Persons of European Descent Whereas, Europeans kept my forebears in bondage some three centuries toiling without pay, Whereas, Europeans ignored the human rights pledges of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution,Whereas, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments meant little more than empty words, Therefore, Americans of European ancestry are guilty of great crimes against my ancestors and their progeny.But, in the recognition Europeans themselves have been victims of various and sundry human rights violations to wit: the Norman Conquest, the Irish Potato Famine, Decline...

I don't know what it will take for the folks in control of this country to understand that reparations for slavery is going to happen. I can't say when it is going to happen, but it will. Despite legal setbacks, black conservatives and David Horowitz, reparations is the best way to build a bridge across our great divide. Otherwise, African Americans and Caucasians will just keep sniping away at each other. Even kids get tired of bickering. Yet, a sincere apology is a hard thing for most of us. When we've wronged someone, I mean really shamefully wronged them in...

CHICAGO (CBS 2) The highly charged issue of slave reparations took center stage at a Chicago City Council hearing on Friday. Alderman Dorothy Tillman accused mega-bank JP Morgan Chase of failing to disclose its past ties to slavery, as required by city law. “We will go back and get with our lawyers we will submit to the law department the reason as to why they lied,” Tillman said. A top executive with JP Morgan strongly denied Tillman's allegation. “We've found no evidence to support the allegation that any of our predecessor institutions had issued, financed or underwritten slavery insurance,” said...

The City Council champion of the slave reparations movement demanded Monday that Carole Brown apologize to African Americans or step down as CTA board chairwoman for "allowing herself to be used" to defend a financial services firm with past ties to slavery. Ald. Dorothy Tillman (3rd) said it's insensitive and insulting for Brown, senior vice president of Lehman Brothers, to suggest that "the Lehman Brothers in the 1850s is not the company that it is today." Brown made the statement after the company she works for became the first city contractor to admit past ties to slavery. "She should have...

I understand the League's problems with the NAACP, due to the opposition by the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) of the public display of the Confederate flags. Of course, like many anti-Southern groups, they view the Confederate flag as "a symbol of slavery". They hold this view, despite the fact that leading Confederate Generals voiced their own condemnation of slavery. General Robert E Lee considered slavery to be "evil" and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson educated his own slaves, despite laws in Virginia which prohibited such activity. Also, there were anti-slavery societies in the South, including the Manumission...

United States Senator Lincoln Chafee (Republican-Rhode Island) became the first GOP Senator to suggest that Majority Leader Trent Lott (Republican-Mississippi) should resign during a radio interview in Providence.But he then backed aaway from the statement when he said the only way that would happen is if the White House officially told Lott do to so [resign the Majority Leaders Post in the US Senate] -something White House Spokesman Ari Fleisher said would not happen.'The White House does not choose sides in a political leadership race,' Fliescher said Wednesday at a White House briefing.

Dear Reader, On August 17, 2002, a rally was held by Millions For Reparations on the mall in Washington, D.C. The rally called for the payment of reparations to blacks for the crime of slavery from both the government and businesses. The following in italics are verbatim quotes, selected for their importance and significance related to the rally. The rest of the following is our commentary... Ron Daniels, Institute of the Black World President It’s about what you do every morning when you look in that mirror and take responsibility for organizing your block and your family. It’s a shame...

Dear Reader, On August 17, 2002, a rally was held by Millions For Reparations on the mall in Washington, D.C. The rally called for the payment of reparations to blacks for the crime of slavery from both the government and businesses. The following in italics are verbatim quotes, selected for their importance and significance related to the rally. The rest of the following is our commentary... Ron Daniels, Institute of the Black World President It’s about what you do every morning when you look in that mirror and take responsibility for organizing your block and your family. It’s a shame...

Reparations debate heats up Push for slavery compensation enters political mainstream By KRISTEN MACK Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Houston lawyer Angela Matthews, 34, was a hesitant convert to the fight for paying money to blacks whose ancestors once toiled as U.S. slaves. A California native with parents from Jamaica and no known slave ancestors, Matthews had trouble at first answering the question: "How does this directly affect me?" As she studied the issue, however, she concluded that many modern-day disparities are the legacy of slavery, that years of unpaid labor unfairly shifted wealth from blacks to whites. She further decided...

HOUSTON (KHOU) -- Slavery was outlawed in America 137 years ago. But some African-Americans now want monetary compensation for years of slavery endured by their ancestors. A united group asked the Houston City Council for support. They carried signs, waved flags and chanted loudly, "We are not here asking for anything," the group said. "We are demanding reparations." This group of descendants of slaves is fighting for compensation that they say their ancestors never got. "We are a people that have lost our culture," said activist Quannell X. "We have lost our religion. We have lost our mores and forays....

Hello Everyone...........I only sent this to those who would be open minded enough to read this and judge for yourself the merits of the article without accusing me of being insensitive. I thought the article interesting.............that's all. Slavery Reparations by Fred Reed On the Web I find that Henry Louis Gates Jr., the chairman of Afro-American Studies at Harvard, is demanding that whites, pay reparations to blacks. It's because of slavery, see. He is joined in this endeavor by a gaggle of other professional blacks. I guess he'll send me a bill. Huh? I feel like saying, Let me get...

SAN FRANCISCO California is the last place that ought to be embroiled in the slave reparations controversy. Slavery was never legal in the state. There were no plantations. Its ports were not slave trade centers--wrong coast. Nonetheless, California has become the first state to step into the reparations game. The legislature two years ago passed, and Democratic governor Gray Davis signed, a bill requiring insurers doing business in the state to provide information on any slave policies they or predecessor companies had issued. The state's imprimatur lends undeserved credibility to the long-shot effort by race demagogues to shake down corporations...

Not clear who is behind the site except for News Trove.com content provider listed on the site.Maybe we can find out.

Slavery reparations California study will enable groups to pressure companies for settlements. A report issued Wednesday by the state of California is likely to lead to new lawsuits and pressure on companies to pay reparations for slavery. The report, Slavery Era Insurance Policies Registry, was compiled by the state. California enacted a law in 2000, requiring all insurance companies doing business in the state to deliver information about any policies they issued covering slaves. That data was compiled into the report. It names six companies that have a connection to a company that issued policies insuring the lives of...

May 1, 2002 Slave reparations are damage, not repair The state of California may be on the verge of getting in the slave reparations business. Thank Sacramento legislators who in 2000, with little fanfare or media coverage, passed two bills, signed by Gov. Gray Davis. These bills could lead to requirements that companies doing business in California pay reparations for slavery, if they or parent companies ever benefited from slavery. At a San Francisco Chronicle editorial board meeting on Tuesday, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said that the bills also could lead to reparations for Chinese Americans, because their "coolie" ancestors...

Blame everyone else. Shirk responsibility. These are the themes of the slavery reparations movement, which seeks to suck money from industry in a wrongful shakedown. By defaming companies for their involvement in the slave trade centuries ago, liberal black leaders attempt to deflect attention from their own failures – failures in stopping single motherhood, in decreasing poverty, and in fostering trust in the American meritocracy. Our overworked legal system is once again being burdened with baseless lawsuits concerning the issue of slavery reparations. On March 26, three federal lawsuits were filed on behalf of the 35 million descendants of African...

By 1860, the Cherokees had 4,600 slaves; the Choctaws, 2,344; the Creeks, 1,532; the Chickasaws, 975; and the Seminoles, 500. Some Indian slave owners were as harsh and cruel as any white slave master. Indians were often hired to catch runaway slaves; in fact, slave-catching was a lucrative way of life for some Indians, especially the Chickasaws.Black slavery in America usually evokes images of the antebellum South, but few realize that members of the Five Civilized Tribes--the Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, and Seminoles--in Indian Territory, today's Oklahoma, also had slaves. Like their counterparts in the South, Indian slaveholders feared slave...

A woman whose ancestors were slaves sued three companies for allegedly profiting from slavery for nearly two centuries — a long-simmering concept that could pick up steam if more blacks are allowed to join the lawsuits. Plaintiffs' lawyers said the lawsuits were the first to seek slavery reparations from private companies. They were filed against the Aetna insurance company, the FleetBoston financial services group and railroad giant CSX on behalf of the 35 million American descendants of African slaves. At a news conference announcing the lawsuits Tuesday, Deadria Farmer-Paellmann said she spent five years researching the topic after writing on...