Reparations For African American Slavery
Introduction
I. The
Reasons
a. Why
Reparations
1. Depleting
Africa's Greatest Resource
2. Suppression
and Elimination of African Culture
3. Unpaid
Labor
4. Arrested
Development
5. Less
Tangible Effects
6. Conclusion
of "Why Reparations"
b. Why
No Reparations
1. Deceased
Victims
2. Unpayable
Debts
3. Problems
not Unique to African Americans
4. No
Living People Responsible
II. Current
Efforts
III. Future
Efforts
Conclusion
It happened for descendants of Jewish people involved
in their Holocaust. It happened for Japanese people placed in internment
camps after world war I. It also happened for Aboriginal Americans who suffered
from the colonization of the Americas. However, it never happened, and arguably
never will happen, for African Americans. The subject is reparations, and
whether or not African Americans should receive them for slavery and the effect
it has had on our race.
SorrelBody acknowledges, regardless of how much descendants of Africa may deserve
reparations, we may never get them. SorrelBody also recognizes our ability
to succeed regardless of the crimes committed against us as a race.
Reparations are resources offered in return for harmful acts committed against
a population. The offering of reparations is an acknowledgment of responsibility,
and an attempt to correct the wrongs of the past, as well as an attempt to repair
the damage of the wrongs of the past. The payment is not always money,
though it could be.
The arguments for and against reparations have been intense, yet the situation
remains unresolved. Some people think the issue is not worth discussing.
This text is not meant to bring forth issues that cannot be resolved.
It is to make people think about this important subject, and consider what the
reactions and sentiment, toward reparations, states about the status of descendants
of Africa in the eyes of themselves and the world.
Some people dismiss the issue because some of the concepts involved in reparations
for African Americans involve slavery, and they feel this issue is irrelevant
in our current time. This text is meant to explore those issues as well
as the issues certain people might miss because they dismiss the subject too
early.
The Reasons
The reasons people propose reparations for slavery are complex. In contrast,
the reasons people are against reparations seem relatively simple. The heart
of the argument is Slavery, and whether or not it affects the state of African
Americans and other descendants of Africa in modern society.
Why Reparations
Reparations are provided as an acknowledgment of responsibility for wrongdoing,
and a partial effort to repair the damage resulting from the wrongdoing.
The wrongdoing is slavery, and the oppression associated with it. The theory
concerning reparations is the effects of slavery are still with us today, and
a significant factor in the problems African Americans face in many aspects of
their lives.
In order to consider the necessity or morality of reparations for descendants
of slaves, people must first be able to realize slavery can affect people long
after the slavery has ended, and slavery can also benefit descendants of slave
drivers long after the slavery has ended. People must also be able to
realize slavery and oppression can exist in forms not as clearly visible as
whips, chains, and cotton fields.
This text will explore the adversity our race suffers due to slavery and associated
practices, as well as the lasting effects of the adversity, and how they relate
to reparations.
Depleting Africa's Greatest Resource
Africa's greatest resource is its people. During slavery, incredible numbers
of African men and women were taken from the people they served, protected, and
helped to survive. Slaves were not always captured randomly. People
were chosen who would be the most effective slaves. The most physically
capable people were chosen. This process of removing hard workers from Africa
served the purpose of providing slave drivers with a very able work force, but
also deprived the worker's families and societies of that work force.
While this wouldn't necessarily destroy the Black communities, it led to less
production than their would have been, which led to less stability, comfort,
and advancement, as well as other things. The additional work force acquired
by the slave drivers led to increased comfort, stability, and advancement for
them, and the profits from selling slaves led to increased comfort for the slave
sellers. This led to increased difficulty for the Black race as a whole,
which includes Africans in America.
Suppression and Elimination of African Culture
In Africa and the United States, slave drivers made great efforts to eliminate
African culture, especially in the United States. In Africa, uniquely African
religions were shunned and otherwise discouraged. African practices were
labeled "barbarian" and "primitive". White religious officials did not understand
the "language of the drums", and therefore spoke against it as a defiance of their
"Christian" religion. The "language of the drums," one of our unique forms
of expression and beauty, was virtually eliminated.
In the United States, Africans were beaten if they were caught speaking
their native languages. Therefore, they were not able to effectively pass
the languages on to their children. This forced suppression of our languages
resulted in the loss of the languages and some of our verbal records of our
history. There is pride in culture, and motivation to maintain the legacy
within that culture. Taking away the culture takes away the pride and
the motivation. Taking away the knowledge of our history creates emotional
conditions and feelings of worthlessness. For many years, African Americans
have had to endure history classes that told them white people accomplished
great things, yet their own people were mere slaves.
Unpaid Labor
One of the most obvious reasons for reparations is the unpaid labor. Slaves
were forced to work without pay. Were the slaves paid for their labor, they
could have used the money to establish an economic foundation in the United States.
The economic foundation could have grown and the economic crisis African Americans
as a whole face today, may have been significantly lessened if it still existed.
Although African Americans did not gain money from slavery, large amounts of
money were earned from slavery. Slave drivers as well as slave traders
earned money from the suffering of African Americans The money being earned
increased the economic power of the entire united States, and the slave labor
powered industries which would have been impractical without free labor.
Arrested Development
Along with the deprivation of financial resources, another significant factor
concerning the state of African Americans is arrested development. Because
Africans brought to the United States were kept in bondage, they were deprived
of opportunities to learn and become more competitive in many areas of society.
Black people were not allowed to read or learn to read, so they could not take
advantage of written text. The lack of funds and freedom made it difficult
to impossible for Black people to acquire land. The limitations of bondage
and anti-Black laws prevented us from establishing the early economic and social
foundations white people were able to establish in the United States. This
placed us in a severely disadvantaged state when slavery was "abolished", and
ultimately led to our modern socioeconomic structure in which white people generally
hold the highest ranks and Black people generally hold the lowest ranks.
Less Tangible Effects of Slavery
Slaves were bought and sold at the will of their owners, without regard for their
families or feelings. Babies were taken from parents and mothers and fathers
were taken from children. Husbands and wives were separated. When
the children were taken from their parents, the parents were unable to teach their
children good values and morality, or how to be men and women. The removal
of parents made families with missing parents seem acceptable even when both parents
were willing to raise the child together. The separation of husbands and
wives decreased the bonds between the two, and cast a shadow over the possible
importance of marriage. After the "abolition" of slavery, many African Americans
had to enter "free" society without the benefits of their parent's nurturing and
teaching, and without positive examples of family structures.
Black
women were raped at will, and large numbers of them were raped. Rape
causes immense emotional trauma, and the mass rape led to the emotional scarring
of many Black women. The emotional condition of parents, or other adults
in the presence of children, affects the children, as does seeing older women
become victims of rape and knowing they will be next. Black men were "devalued"
by society. They were not allowed to take care of Black women and children,
and in many cases unable to protect them from the assaults of evil racist people.
This led to the emotional scarring of many Black men. The trauma of being
a slave led to the emotional scarring of all African Americans
When Black men had sex with white women, the women often claimed they were
raped to avoid the punishment of willingly having sex with Black men.
The children were rejected from white society and enslaved. When white
men had sex with Black women, whether willingly or through brutal rape, the
children were not accepted by their fathers, and enslaved as well. Slaves
of mixed ancestry generally had lighter skin than those of pure African ancestry.
Those slaves of mixed ancestry, as well as pure Africans who had light skin,
were often assailed in a different manner from those with darker skin.
They were regarded as bad people, but those with darker skin were regarded as
something worse. The implication was "the whiter, the righter".
This classification based on light skin and dark skin created division among
African Americans as well as Black people around the world. This division
still affects us today, and has spawned intraracial conflicts which sometimes
spawn Black on Black crimes that seem indistinguishable from race-based crime,
with the exception of all involved parties being Black people.
Conclusion of Why Reparations
The purpose of explaining the negative effects slavery has had, and still has,
on African Americans is to establish the reason reparations for African Americans
are well-deserved. As stated before, SorrelBody does not expect reparations
to be given or even offered on a large scale. The text is meant to illustrate
and explain how slavery of the past negatively affects African Americans alive
today.
The text is not meant to blame white people for all of the problems African
Americans face.
Why No Reparations
Earlier in the text, it was stated, the reasons reparations should not be offered
are relatively more simple than the reasons they should be offered. This
is not meant to be insulting. It is based on a limited offering of reasons
against reparations.
Deceased Victims
One of the most common arguments against the offering of reparations for African
American slavery is, the claim that all of the people affected by slavery, as
well as all of the people responsible for slavery, are dead. Part of the
proposed theory is, the debt cannot and should not be repaid because there is
no one alive to repay the debt to. Another part of the proposed theory is,
all people responsible for the debt are dead, so the debt cannot be repaid.
The problem with this theory is, the concept of reparations is not based on
people as individuals. It is based on races as whole units. Although
individuals have died, the races live on. White people alive today, still
benefit from slavery. Also, Black people alive today, still suffer from
the effects of slavery. Also, the people who benefit from slavery continue
to perpetuate the system which allows them to benefit from the suffering of
Black people, and that makes them responsible for the suffering.
Unpayable Debt
Another argument against reparations is, the extent of the damage is so great
that the United States could not offer a repayment great enough to be suitable
for reparations. While there is truth in the inability to repair all of
the damage by offering resources, returning some the resources will repair some
of the damage.
Problems not Unique to African Americans
Another argument against reparations is, the problem is not unique to African
Americans People have stated, African Americans were not the only people
enslaved, and therefore, African Americans should not receive reparations because
these other groups of people didn't receive reparations.
No Living People Responsible
Possibly the most common argument against reparations is, the people responsible
for slavery are all dead. The theory is, no living people are responsible
for slavery and therefore, no living people should offer reparations. The
problem with this is the concept of who is responsible for slavery. The
demand is not for individuals to offer reparations, but for the United States
government to offer reparations. Although the individual people, who instituted
slavery, are all dead, the government which supported the institution remains
in existence today. Therefore, the government should be held accountable.
Current Efforts
Currently, there have not been any large-scale efforts to offer reparations to
African Americans The last significant promise of reparations was offered
when Abraham Lincoln promised "freed" Black slaves "40 acres and a mule".
He was killed shortly afterward and replaced by a Southerner who sympathized with
those in favor of slavery.
While some people have proposed the offering of reparations, there is a belief
that this will never happen due to the unwillingness of white people to make
an effort. The call for reparations seems to have been adjusted to merely
a call for an official government apology. Some white people argue against
an apology for slavery because they don't feel responsible for the acts.
Some white people argue against an apology for slavery because an apology is
an acknowledgment of wrongdoing, which would justify the call for reparations.
At the time this text was originally typed, African Americans have not received
reparations or an official government apology for slavery.
Future Efforts
Some feelings and attitudes toward slavery have changed very little in the past
400 years. Throughout this time frame, white people have continued to collectively
hold higher socioeconomic positions than Black people in the United States.
This position of power and wealth may make the issue of reparations seem almost
like an attack because it seems to be Black people trying to take things from
white people for something that happened long before these people were born.
Black people still suffer from the effects of slavery and some can still see the
need for reparations, or an official apology for African American slavery.
Therefore, the discussion and conflicts may continue for a long time. Other
ethnic groups fought for reparations for many years, finally reaching their goal.
Perseverance is a part of being Black, and while we cannot determine the outcome
of the call for reparations, or if the issue will be important in the future,
we can be assured that our people will not allow the importance of our struggles
to be forgotten.
Conclusion
This text was made to present a concept which is relevant and significant to African
Americans, yet not offensive to those who are not African American. If there
are errors in the text, or any offensive and unjustified statements, they are
unintentional.
Discussing reparations is not an attempt to increase racial tension.
It is an attempt to illustrate the thoughts of African Americans, make them
understandable, and increase understanding which will ultimately benefit those
who read the text.
The fact that African Americans have survived so long without reparations is
evidence that they are not necessary for our survival. Still, our socioeconomic
position is in need of improvement, and negatively affected by the oppression
of the past and present.
Just as we can survive and overcome without reparations, reparations will not
solve all of our problems. Those problems will be solved with our own
efforts. It would be impossible to offer something worth the value of
lost lives and lost happiness. The reparations are more of a gesture than
a solution. This gesture would be a step to lessen racial conflicts and
tension. If you have any thoughts or feelings concerning this issue or
this text, please send them.
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