Should the US Pay Reparations to Descendants of SlavesBlack Americans
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Should the US Pay Reparations to Descendants of Slaves/Black Americans?
It is impossible to rewrite history, but can it be redressed? Reparations are restitution payments remitted to the descendants of the enslaved people for atrocities done to them. In theory, reparations would be paid by parties/entities that took part in slavery, such as local governments, federal governments, universities, and corporations. Although slavery in the United States ended over a century ago, the effects of the vice still linger. The main question is whether the United States needs to make up for the atrocities and, if so, whether reparations are the answer. While proponents support the idea of paying reparations to descendants of slaves, opposers are against paying reparations. From my standpoint, the United States should pay descendants of slavery reparations as slavery caused giant disparities in wealth, left black communities at the pity of health deficits and a precedent for paying reparations is already in place.
Supporting Arguments
Slavery Caused Giant Wealth Disparities that should be Addressed Using Reparations.
One of the reasons why the United States should consider paying descendants of slaves reparation is slavery caused huge disparities in wealth. Majority of the wealth in the United States was created on the backs of black slaves. Ta-Nehisi Coates, a correspondent and author for the Atlantic explained that by 1836, nearly half (over $600 million) of United States economic activity was derived indirectly or directly from cotton produced by millions of slaves. By the time slaves became emancipated, they were the single largest single asset in the US valued at 3 billion dollars in 1860 dollars. This was more than all other assets of the time combined. People of color were not paid for their contribution to the economy leading to years of financial struggle. Most recent data available indicates that people of color had about 2.6% of the wealth in the United States while accounting for 13% of the population. The data also indicates that the net worth of white households was $80 000 more than that of black households. William Darit Jr., an economist at Duke University and Kristen Mullen posited that the origins of the gulf in Black and White originated from immediate repercussions of slavery when a promise that had been made to give former slaves 40 acres of land were unmet (Goldy, 42). While all this happened, in the meantime, many White Americans were given substantial acres of land of about 160 acres in the West. Mullen and Darity conclude that public policy has caused a rift between Black and White and will need public policy to get rid of it and that reparations is one of the public policy.
Slavery Left Black Communities at the Sympathy of Slave Health Deficit
Another reason why the United States should pay reparations to descendants of slaves is it left their communities at the pity of the slave health deficit. Brittney Butler, a Health Policy Research Scholar posited that the health effects of racism or slavery in the United States transcended generations and set foundation for poor health among black families in the United States. The connection between racism and disparities goes back to the slavery days. The Slave trade brought with it diseases to indigenous and African populations. Additionally, before arriving to the shores of North America, the horrible ship conditions and the long journey increased risk of mortality and disease with dysentery being the leading cause of death (Anyaegbunam, 2). Even if the slaves managed to survive the treacherous journey, they were forced to work and live under inhumane working conditions that further increased their risk of respiratory and chronic diseases. Additionally, during slavery, white physicians exploited, experimented on and enslaved black people under the guise of advanced medicine. Also, once the slaves were free, they had reduced access to basic necessities and access to healthcare. Even after slavery ended, the health disparities were felt in the differences in access to care in healthcare facilities and other higher levels of disease because of increased exposure and different life opportunities. People of color are most likely to be uninsured or underinsured and less likely to access a primary care professional. Worth noting, diseases such as asthma, heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, diabetes, and cancer are more prevalent among black people than white people. According to Oliver Brooks, the President of the National Medical Association noted that the social determinants of health (SDoH) play a significant role in one’s health such as medical treatment and genetics. The six broad categories of the social determinants of health include physical environment, economic stability, food community and social content, education, and healthcare systems. People of color are adversely affected in these aspects. With regard to the pandemic, Brooks noted that because of poor housing, people of color are not able to isolate themselves as, in some instances, a two-bedroom apartment can host up to six people. Brooks also added that people of color work in environments that do not allow them to work from home. Their work requires them to be physically them hence going out places them at even higher risk of infection. Additionally, most of these jobs do not offer health coverage and as such reparations would go a long way in boosting African American healthcare and other underlying social conditions that have caused health disparity.
A Precedent of Paying the Reparations is Already in Place
The third reason why the United States should consider paying descendants of slaves reparations is that a precedent by the US State, federal government, international organizations, and local governments is already in place. Between 1948 and 1965, the United States federal government paid the victims of Japanese internment camps reparations through the Japanese-American Claims Act of 1948. Additionally, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 made it possible for each survivor to receive an additional $20, 000 payment by 1998 at, a total of 1.6 billion dollars. Worth noting, victims of a Tuskegee Study that left 399 black men infected with syphilis untreated received $10 million in reparations alongside lifelong medical care for their families by the US government. The US has not only paid reparations to victimized groups but also slaveholders. Around 900 slaveholders in Washington D.C received about $23 million in 2020 dollars in order to let go of 2,981 slaves in April 1862 in line with the Compensated Emancipation Act which Lincoln had attempted to institute in various states but acts failed.
Additionally, North Caroline, set aside $10 million in reparations program for an estimated 7600 individuals in the state that were forcefully sterilized between 1929 and 1974. Virginia also paid every living survivor of about 8000 individuals sterilized by force about 250, 000. Florida also paid $2 million reparations to victims of the Racewood race riot of 1923. Chicago also approved an ordinance to pay victims of police brutality between 1972 and 1991 under police commander John Burge reign a minimum of $20 million. Additionally, the German government had paid $89 billion to Nazi victims as of 2012 in a reparation program that had started in 1952 (Favreau, 24).It still pays the reparations to date. South African paid 19,000 victims of apartheid atrocities up to $85 million in 2003. Also, in Georgetown University, students voted to increase fees by $27.50 to raise the sum of $400, 000 needed annually for a reparations fund. The institution paid reparations to descendants of the 272 slaves that Jesuits sold in 1838. Other institutions, such as the Princeton Theological Seminary and the Virginia Theological Seminary have followed suit paying $27.6 million and $1.7 million in reparations. At least 56 universities and colleges have joined universities that study slavery in exploring the legacy of the vice in the institutions. In 2018, an organization of nuns known as the Society of the Sacred Heart paid reparations to the descendants of individuals that had been enslaved by the organization. Additionally, Siemens, a German electronics company set aside $11.9 million fund in 1998 for slave labor that went into World War II. The move followed a similar announcement made by Volkswagen a German automaker. In essence, if reparations can be paid out to groups of other descendants by the U.S government, then they can also be paid by the federal government.
Opposing Arguments
No Body Currently Living is Responsible for Righting the Past Wrongs
The thirteenth amendment was ratified on 6th December 1865, which is over 150 years ago, putting an end to slavery across the United States. The first African to be enslaved arrived in 1619, which is more than 400 years ago. The last living survivor of trade, Matilda McCrear, had arrived in Alabama in 1860, died in January 1940. As at April 2020, millennials comprised the biggest living adult group in the United States. The 72.1 million millennials born in 1981 or after would have to go back at six generations to get a slave owner or slave in their lineage, and that depends on if there was any in the first. According to Mitch McConnell, a Republican U.S. Senator, reparations for something that took place 150 years ago for people who are currently living were responsible would not be a good idea (Craemer and D’Andra, 163). McConnell further opined that the States had tried to address the origin of slavery by fighting civil war through enacting landmark civil rights legislation and even electing an African American president. McConnell further added that as a country, the United States is a work in progress and with no one currently alive took part in the atrocity, we should not be trying to work out a compensation plan. Additionally, a Western Region Director for R Street Institute named Steven Greenhut noted that white people whose families came after the segregation era would wonder why they should have to pay for the mistakes of the ancestors of other people. Greenhut added that rather than resolving the problem, people would begin to fight other money. He insisted that it would end up being about only the money and that is not the way to help the nation deal with its past. A reporter named Scott Reader concluded that he does not believe in collective guilt and that not all Muslims should be blamed for the 9-11 attack and or gun owners are responsible for gun violence across cities. Similarly, not all Americans should be held responsible for the injustice of slavery that took place many years ago. While all the above-discussed viewpoints of McConnell, Reader and Greenhut hold true, there is no denying that there is need to do something to right these past wrongs. The truth of the matter remains that despite having the strongest economy in the world, the United States is still plagued by racism and systemic discrimination and injustice against people of color. While steps have been taken to address past mistakes, this inequality remains commonplace. As such, it is time to give reparations because we might never know if they would make a difference unless we give it a trial.
In closing, the United States should consider giving reparations to descendants of slaves as slavery caused giant disparities in wealth, left black communities at the pity of health deficits and a precedent for paying reparations is already in place. If descendants of other groups can be compensated, then so can the descendants of slavery. While opposers argue that propagators of the atrocity are no longer alive, this does not take away from the fact that some policy action should take place.
Works Cited
Anyaegbunam, Nkiru. “The Problem of Blackness in America: Becoming When the Being Never Comes to Be.” (2022).
Craemer, Thomas, and D’Andra Orey. “Implicit Black identification and stereotype threat among African American students.” Social science research 65 (2017): 163-180.
Favreau, Marc, ed. Remembering slavery: African Americans talk about their personal experiences of slavery and emancipation. New Press, the, 2021.
Goldy-Brown, Sarah. Reparations for Slavery: The Fight for Compensation. Greenhaven Publishing LLC, 2017.
