RE: Retribution for Slavery or Racism? Can this even be done?
July 25, 2013 at 5:24 pm
(This post was last modified: July 25, 2013 at 5:25 pm by Mister Agenda.)
The farthest back I can go with my ancestry is a man named Pleasant Easely who lived in SC in the 1700s and migrated west. When I moved to SC, I did not know I had any ancestors here. From his journal, he found slavery detestable, but it's mentioned in reference to a slave-owning uncle so maybe I do have a slave-owning ancestor. If so, it's not possible for me to make reparations for his or her crimes; or make things right for the victims, who are dead.
However, if all racism against descendants of slaves were ended instantly, today, it would take many decades for them to achieve a level playing field economically. Past discrimination has left them poor in the generational assets the majority of American whites have. I'm not one of them, my family was very poor, but it's not unusual for young white Americans to be given all sorts of assistance that is harder for young black Americans to come by; like being given a car, or a home (or given substantial assistance in purchasing a home), or having your education paid for. OK, I did get the car ($300 1970 Mercury Comet).
This disparity was not arrived at justly, so it behooves us as a nation to correct it. And it's not enough to just throw money in the general direction of the disadvantaged, programs need to work and be cost-effective, and the money re-purposed into some other method if it doesn't work or stops working. Much better K-12 education would be a good start. No one should have to try to get their kid into a 'white school' for a better education.
However, if all racism against descendants of slaves were ended instantly, today, it would take many decades for them to achieve a level playing field economically. Past discrimination has left them poor in the generational assets the majority of American whites have. I'm not one of them, my family was very poor, but it's not unusual for young white Americans to be given all sorts of assistance that is harder for young black Americans to come by; like being given a car, or a home (or given substantial assistance in purchasing a home), or having your education paid for. OK, I did get the car ($300 1970 Mercury Comet).
This disparity was not arrived at justly, so it behooves us as a nation to correct it. And it's not enough to just throw money in the general direction of the disadvantaged, programs need to work and be cost-effective, and the money re-purposed into some other method if it doesn't work or stops working. Much better K-12 education would be a good start. No one should have to try to get their kid into a 'white school' for a better education.
