Reparations

The subject of reparations to certain Black Americans for the slavery of their ancestors, is a complicated and difficult one to undertake to say the least. Let us however start with for those that are not aware, The United Stated Government, as well as certain States, were not only complicit, but they were also directly and deeply involved in slavery in the United States. There were also many companies and corporations, many that were deeply entangled with and profited from slavery, and many are still operating today. Although the Federal Government didn’t technically “own” slaves as an entity; it upheld the institution, profited from it, and built federal property with the help of enslaved labor. New States entered the Union as either free or slave states through intense political negotiation in Congress, primarily to maintain the delicate balance of power, leading to landmark agreements like the Missouri Compromise (1820), which admitted Missouri as a slave state and Main as a free state. The core issue was maintaining equal representation in the Senate between slave and free states, preventing either side from dominating national policy. The Constitution implicitly protected slavery through compromises like the Three-Fifths Compromise, which boosted political power, and the Fugitive Slave Clause, requiring the return of escaped slaves. Companies profited from slavery by financing slaveholders, insuring enslaved people as property, transporting slave-grown goods, and even using slave labor, building generational wealth and shaping the American economy and industrial growth. The difficulty in reparations is the ability to identify who the ancestors of slaves are, and what could be given to rectify any past injustice. There are many new arrivals that are black and would not be decedents of slaves in America, any monetary reparation would be coming from the tax pool contributions from people whose ancestors were not even here during slavery. If there are any reparations given, it should be on the hands of the United States Government, both Federal and State, as well as from any company or corporation that benefited from slavery. Some believe that is impossible to achieve a fair and accurate distribution of any type of monetary reparation, and that it is unfair to punish those who had nothing to do with slavery or the history of slavery. Whatever your opinion is of reparations, understand that this is a very serious issue with the black community and one that we should all want to have a conversation about. We should all want to get to a place where everyone feels comfortable about not only discussing the past but rectifying any past injustice that has not been addressed appropriately and fully, to the best of one’s ability. This could be how we move the ball of race relations further down the field to score that touchdown!

Admitting the past does not admit guilt, by admits the desire to unify the present.