Reparations.
When you hear that word,
what do you think of?
Or maybe just
The topic of reparations has come up a lot.
Especially in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election.
About America's
original
sin
Slavery.
So what exactly are we talking about here?
Simply put, reparations is the act of making amends for a wrong
or an injury committed toward an individual or a group of people.
Reparations for Slavery is the idea that some form of compensation needs to be made
to the descendants of the four million Africans that were trafficked and enslaved in the United States.
Now, I can already hear some of you say,
“But wasn't that over 200 years ago?”
And you are right.
But that doesn't mean African Americans don't face repercussions from it
So this past June, Congress held its first congressional hearing to discuss bill H.R. 40
H.R. 40 would authorize 12 million dollars to study and develop Reparation Proposals.
The study was focused on the appropriate remedies for slavery and discrimination
and the impact of these factors on living African Americans.
The bill also considers a national apology from the U.S. government.
Something that, to date, has never happened.
Maybe the best way to say what we've been through, they should apologize.
In due time, we do need an apology.
Yeah, I think they should actually.
Now, some of you might be thinking,
While others might say,
“Why should we have to pay for something that happened so many years ago?”
Well, time to open your history books.
And try not to fall asleep like you did in AP U.S. history.
American Slavery lasted almost 250 years.
If you count the nearly one hundred years of Jim Crow segregation that followed
then that means officially sanctioned racial oppression actually lasted over 300 years.
This created a significant wealth gap between black and white Americans that
The federal government first considered it in 1865 when newly freed black people were
promised up to 40 acres of land.
Hence the bill named H.R. 40, get it?
Anyway, after President Lincoln was assassinated,
this special field order was overturned by President Andrew Johnson.
He decided to return the land to the planters who owned it instead.
Like dude, seriously?
Fast forward to 1989.
Former Democrat Representative John Conyers Junior of Michigan introduced legislation
to discuss what reparations might actually look like.
He introduced this bill every year for nearly 30 years.
But despite his best efforts, it never went anywhere.
Until this June
when the bill received its first ever Congressional subcommittee hearing.
Under the new sponsorship of Texas Representative Sheila Jackson Lee.
Supporters of reparations believe it would not only help make amends for slavery and segregation
but also for its cruel and crippling legacy.
But opponents of reparations believe America shouldn't be held responsible for her forefathers' sins.
One vocal opponent is Republican and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
He told reporters, “We've tried to deal with our original sin of slavery by fighting
a civil war, by passing a landmark civil rights legislation.
We elected an African American president.
I mean, problem solved, right?”
Many supporters of reparations don't blame white Americans today for slavery.
But they do recognize that years of oppression have prolonged this hierarchy,
where whites have privileges that people of color don't.
Although, there are people like Senator Bernie Sanders and former President Barack Obama
who oppose the idea that money alone can address slave reparations,
they do support investing in marginalized communities.
So...
What do you think will be a just compensation for African Americans?
Land.
And our wealth.
Money.
An apology letter.
That's it.
More and more questions will be raised about how reparations would work.
But no matter which side of the conversation you land,
we can all agree that this is one world worth having.
I'm Emily.
I'm Estephani.
I'm Shannon.
I'm Astrid.
And I'm Ashley.
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