Notes to address the question of anti-Reparations people
ADOS Reparationist Quick Guide
October - Volume 1 Issue 1
The ADOS (American Descendants of Slavery) Reparationist Quick Guide Response is designed to be a civic engagement resource for anyone and allows supporters to take ownership of our social justice advocacy. Authorship is being encouraged from every sector and community of citizens concerned with the restorative justice of ADOS and the closing of the black-white racial wealth gap. The book From here to equality: Reparations for black Americans in the twentieth century (Darity & Mullen, 2020) will serve as our base source for the invited authors of the volumes. Each issue will contain five topical quick points from four featured authors offering their responses to commonly held opposition to reparations and/or frequently asked questions (FAQ) about a reparations program.
2.
“As an immigrant or a descendent of immigrants post-slavery, why am I responsible for reparations when my family came to America with nothing and worked hard to achieve the ‘American Dream’ and their wealth position?”
● Choosing to come to America because of the better conditions produced by the enslavement and exploitation of black people does not provide moral exceptionality (FHTE, p. 54, paragraph 7 and p. 55, paragraph 1). Moreover, publicly provided assets such as the Homestead Act (1860-1930), that included land and residential properties and disproportionate white access to the benefits of the New Deal and the GI Bill, greatly contributed to white wealth accumulation while blacks largely were excluded from these government benefits (FHTE, p. 37, paragraphs 1-3).
Moreover, it is important to realize that there are many people, white and black, who were alive during Jim Crow and are living today in the era of mass incarceration, police executions of unarmed blacks, ongoing discrimination in housing, credit, and employment markets, and the immense racial wealth gap. The wealth divide between native black Americans (ADOS) and whites reflects a cumulative, intergenerational economic effect of American white supremacy.
ADOS Reparationist FHTE Guided Reference Sheet (Volume 1 Issue 1)