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Reparations for African Americans: Historical Context, Wealth Gap, and The Justice League's Model

Introduction to Reparations for African Americans

  • Definition of Reparations: The term "reparations" originates from "repair," signifying a process of making amends for a historical wrong, particularly when perpetuated by governments or countries.

  • International Precedents: Reparations have been paid globally for historical injustices, including:

    • South Africa: Paid reparations to its citizens for apartheid.

    • Germany: Paid reparations to Jewish people for the atrocities of World War II.

    • United States: Has precedent for reparations payments for other groups.

United States Precedents for Reparations

  • Native American Populations (Michigan Example):

    • The US government wronged Native American populations, leading to reparations.

    • Michigan Treaty of 1836: Land (yellow portions on map) was ceded from the Ottawa people to the State of Michigan.

    • Significance: This land mass was crucial for Michigan to become a state in 1837.

    • Broken Treaty: The Ottawa understood they could still use the land for fishing, hunting, and camping, but Michigan denied this right.

    • Resolution: The conflict, which began in 1837, was resolved in 1986, with the Ottawa receiving 32,000,000

  • Japanese Americans (WWII Internment):

    • The US paid reparations for the internment of Japanese Americans in camps during World War II.

    • Payment: In 1988, after over a ten-year period of negotiations, each interned citizen received $20,000.

    • Official Apology: The US government also issued an official apology, a gesture never extended to African Americans for slavery.

Historical Impediments to Wealth Accumulation for African Americans

These factors underscore why reparations are considered necessary for African Americans, addressing a profound lack of wealth accumulation and generational wealth.

  • Slavery: America's Original Sin

    • Chattel Slavery: People were bought, sold, owned, and passed down through generations. Deemed the most brutal form globally.

    • Economic Basis: The wealth of the US, particularly during the Industrial Revolution, was built on free labor (slavery), especially cotton production which fueled the textile industry.

    • Duration: Lasted 246 years, officially ending in 1865 (Emancipation Proclamation signed in 1863, but freedom fully realized after the Civil War).

    • Emancipation Without Compensation: Freed individuals received no compensation for their labor or contributions to the country's development.

  • 40 Acres and a Mule

    • Lincoln's Promise: President Lincoln proposed land compensation for formerly enslaved people, allocating 40 acres of land taken from Confederates to each free family.

    • General Sherman's Addition: Suggestion to also provide a mule, creating the enduring phrase.

    • Failure to Implement: Lincoln's assassination in April 1865 led to President Andrew Johnson's reversal of the policy, removing people who had already settled and worked the land, again without compensation.

  • Homestead Acts (1862, 1866)

    • Purpose: Designed to spread the US population westward by offering free land.

    • Process: Simple application, nominal fee, land location, improvement (e.g., sod house), and five years of residency made the land free and clear.

    • Disparity: While 246,000,000 acres were distributed, benefiting 1,600,000 white families (native-born or immigrants), only approximately 4,000 to 5,000 African Americans received final land patents.

    • Reasons for Disparity: In 1866, recently freed African Americans faced systemic barriers:

      • Literacy Laws: It was illegal to teach enslaved people to read or write, hindering application processes.

      • Lack of Transportation: Difficulty in reaching western lands.

      • Opposition: Significant resistance and violence against African Americans acquiring land.

    • Impact: These acts created generational wealth for white families, a benefit largely denied to African Americans.

  • Convict Leasing and Sharecropping

    • Post-Reconstruction Era: Followed the brief "Reconstruction" period (approx. 12 years) where African Americans experienced fairer treatment (voting, holding office).

    • Union Army Withdrawal: Once the Union Army left the South, former Confederates and organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and White Citizens Council engaged in lawless acts, undoing progress.

    • Black Codes: Executive orders post-Reconstruction that severely limited African American freedoms. A key element was criminalizing vagrancy (not having a job).

    • Convict Leasing System: African American men (and some women) were arrested for vagrancy, filling jails. State governments, companies, and farmers paid their