Black People : Why It’s Time for America to Get Real About Reparations for Black Folks

[Clyde C Coger Jr]

Btw, beware of making deals with the devil.....

Which, again, is why it, reparations, is "complicated."

It's one thing to accept reparations for past injustices, like Jewish concentration camp survivors AND their children who were never in camps.... unlike the Herero people whom the German chancellor told flat OUTRIGHT that Germany was NOT giving survivors, much less their children, reparations for identical atrocities and even more (but the greasy, racist bittch did say they would give the Hereros' country, Namibia, "foreign aid," i.e., charity )....

The point is, Jews no longer live in Europe (basically), thus/and no longer suffer under codes and other legal and social restrictions imposed by non-Jews. We, on the other hand, do. Slavery by another name is still a reality in tooo many areas of our lives. We still suffer legal and social restrictions. Our movements are circumscribed (Trayon Martin). We still have to bite our tongues, to censure our speech about our TRUE perceptions of race in America (gonna tell your boss off and put him/her on blast for making that "racist" remark? "hehehe I know how you black women are about your hair!" Or, as was once said of Obama when at meeting of young lawyers and before he went into politics, he stood up and said he was (one day) going to POTUS.... and behind closed doors, but BEFORE the "spook", the law firm's partners fell all over themselves, laughing).

In short, unlike Israeli Jews, we are NOT a free, self-determining people.... and we still live in the digestive tract of the beast whom we want to pay for devouring our ancestors and flushed them through and out of its system.

Only a free, self-determining people would put to good use $230,000/each. Those controlled by outside forces? Within 5 years, the beast would have every dime back and a century from now, their descendants would be yapping about reparations for the coming 100 years of continued discrimination, disenfranchisement and denigration.

My Sister, you are so right and so on point. Again, when I read you its like reading myself. My whole argument to those of us that don't desire Reparations has been the conversation is needed, because if we suddenly got the checks, it would all go right back to white folk.

Without a conversation on how we would spend the money, where we would spend it, or what good we would do with it; and by and large, which black Bank would we move those funds to, misses the point of getting paid, to our detriment.

Therefore, we had better begin the dialog, as though Reparations will be received rather than argue why we will not get checks, or shouldn't get checks, for a positive impact ... lifting us up, in the black diaspora, and ultimately out of the belly of the beast.

Repatriation is certainly a good use of the money for those that have determined where to return back home (Africa/Alkebu-lan).

 

[Clyde C Coger Jr]

Maybe so, maybe not, at least those of us that are conscious about our affairs would behave appropriately. Its almost like, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

But in no way should the final outcome be determined by those that have not thought out the process of receiving checks, or hold up those that have given it conscious thought and made preparations to execute on a positive basis.

There is absolutely no way that most of the folk I know, would turn around and give it back to the system, before taking care of needs, desired and perceived. I'm sure you know people like this too.

Clarification:

Lots of complications with reparations - and not just getting past familial horrors (how can you when the horrors continue to befall members of your extended family?). With no cessation of discrimination, etc., money reparations would be, IMO, kinda meaningless.... or a deal with the devil for whom it would have ALL meaning for the beast would be exonerated.... and have it's money (back), too.

 

[Kadijah]

Maybe so, maybe not, at least those of us that are conscious about our affairs would behave appropriately. Its almost like, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

But in no way should the final outcome be determined by those that have not thought out the process of receiving checks, or hold up those that have given it conscious thought and made preparations to execute on a positive basis.

There is absolutely no way that most of the folk I know, would turn around and give it back to the system, before taking care of needs, desired and perceived. I'm sure you know people like this too.

So together, we know 10 people, or maybe a hundred, or a thousand who wouldn't fritter away the money in 5 years, tops. That leaves 37,999,000 who will..... give it back to the beast.

btw, $230,000 to EVERY descendant of a slave? All 38 MILLION of us (2,000,000 blacks are NOT African-Americans, rather recent immigrants)? That's $9,420,000,000,000 or, what? 9 TRILLION dollars and change?

Dream on.

 

[butterfly#1]

This is where REAL BLACK PEOPLE and FAKE @SS BLACK PEOPLE HAVE A PARTING OF THE WAYS. Real Black people won't make the comment that Ta-nehisi made right here; Perhaps it’s the same with America and black folks. If we are ever to become the “more perfect union” of our Constitution, we must reconcile what we have done and continue to do to African Americans.

Real Black people ain't claiming no part of this Constitution and understand that it was flawed from the start, just like they ain't claiming that Bible. In other words, ain't no fakin the funk.

Them fake @ss Black people really be on that "American" B.S. and Constitution ish as if they had something to do with that...just like they be supporting a book known as the Bible that they don't follow...fakin tha funk.

Why do you bring religion into this thread? Its so far off topic. This thread is about Reparations! Can't you post in threads that are not about Religion?

 

[writer33]

Hi Clyde.....

At first I thought my "alert" was a response to what I said earlier. But I see not.

But now that I'm here, let me throw out a couple of thoughts. Some years ago I applied for a job in communications for the Kirwan Institute on Race & Ethnicity, based at Ohio State University. Kirwan was a former OSU president who is credited with making massive changes toward minority student enrollment, as I remember reading about him.

It is where I first heard the term, "structural racism," spoken by Kirwan's then president, prof. john powell. Note the use of lower case letters in his name, by his choice. I still would love to know. I'd received many of Kirwan's newsletters afterwards, and no question that prof. powell is a very keen-thinking black intellectual.

The entire notion, and structure, of white privilege embedded in our economic system needs to be eliminated, or at the least neutralized. Exactly how and what changes to do this are likely far too many to list in a short comment. But as possible examples of it: elimination of the existing credit reporting system, and ending of discriminatory bank and consumer finance fees based on that flawed credit reporting system. Whatever is needed to fairly replace these does suggest a massive engagement of legislative and procedural changes that will not be easy.

From it I would also hope to see the complete elimination of the "payday loan" industry, severe restrictions on interest and fee charges, from banks down to home loans, business loans, car loans, the retail industry in general. There must be some reasonably fair way to determine distinctions between fair consumer costs, and predatory capitalistic practices that always aimed at preying on the less fortunate.

In the criminal justice field, there must be a way to achieve operational fairness in our judicial systems. Such as for minority defendants, there must be a majority of minority jurors in a jury trial. Or some similar application of an across-the-board application of law to all races.

Our prisons and our prison system has the unfortunate bragging rights of more people in prison in America than anywhere else in the world, including China or Russia, or N Korea. I would suggest a serious look at the release of ALL serving time on non-violent offenses, particularly drug possession offenses, inasmuch as I have read of drug distribution focused primarily in black and minority communities, and then drug enforcement (we jokingly call the "war on drugs" which seemed more a war on minorities).

To sell this concept, to make it gain some acceptability, some form of accountability to provide some parole-like frameworks to help discharged inmates with temp housing, and training, job and counseling opportunities.

In education, with young people in general (not the prisons), some form of "free ride" college and university tuition arrangements, based on not only grades, but recommendations of teachers, counselors, especially from more minority segregated school systems. Poor white kids, as with blacks and Latinos, from stressed communities should also benefit,

In all these, I recognize a massive infusion of creative thinking will be needed to find the means to make it all work. And the white communities need to be engaged enough in it to recognize the damages from structural racism, and given some incentives to want to become engaged -- not just financial.

These are among thoughts that come immediately to mind. And I have no doubt I am barely scratching the surface.