Reparations for the Enslavement and Oppression of African Americans
For the most part, the United States’ government and citizens acknowledge the crimes against humanity that the government and white Americans have inflicted upon generations of African Americans. However, many believe that freedom and a reluctant apology from the Senate is enough recompense for 250 years of slavery and the subsequent century of institutionalized economic discrimination. According to CNN, USA Today, and YouGov polls, a mere 9% of white Americans believe that reparations should be issued to African Americans even though 64% of Americans agree that past discrimination is a direct contributing factor to the massive racial wealth gap in the United States (Swanson). In addition to the racial economic disparity that still remains prevalent in the United states, African Americans also suffer mental and physical health issues as a result of slavery and the discrimination that followed. However, if done correctly, government issued reparations could effectively amend these racial inequalities that stem from a legacy of oppression.
The racial economic inequalities of America have been accumulating since the institution of slavery was first established in the United States. Not only were African Americans subjected to severe economic oppression due to slavery, but they also made it possible for the United States to develop into a world superpower. Edward Baptist, a history professor at Cornell University, states that slavery was a major contributor to the formation of America’s wealth, and that approximately half of the United States’ economic activity in 1836 was derived from slave labor (262). However, slavery did not only directly generate wealth; slavery indirectly contributed to the rise of the United States as well. Slave labor in North and South America was responsible for the production of coffee, cotton, rum, sugar, and tobacco, which are goods that inarguably laid the economic foundation for the industrial revolution. Slave labor provided an upwards of 70% of the cotton used by the textile industry, which spawned the industrial revolution. Many other industries flourished due to slavery; for example, major firms such as J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Aetna, Wachovia (which has since been acquired by Wells Fargo), and New York Life all significantly profited off of the institution of slavery and even found beginnings in buying, selling, insuring, and loaning slaves. “Without the often profitable enterprises around African and African American enslavement, it is unclear how or when the United States would have developed as a modern industrial nation” (Feagin 52). Furthermore, Joe Feagin, a professor of sociology at Harvard University, states, “from at least the early 1700s to the mid 1800s, much of the surplus capital and wealth of the country’s white families and communities came directly, or by means of economic multiplier effects, from the African slave trade and the slave plantations and related enterprises” (52). Excluding wealth that indirectly stemmed from slavery, a Harvard research study in 2004 came to the conclusion that black labor stolen by whites through the means of slavery plus the costs of racially based economic discrimination that followed slavery could amount to anywhere from $5 to $24 trillion (54). African Americans are not only owed compensation for their unrecognized contributions to the growth of America’s economy, but also for what was taken from them during slavery and the economic oppression that followed slavery.
Following slavery, Black Codes were immediately instituted. Black Codes were an array of laws with the intent and the effect of restricting African Americans' freedom, and helped facilitate a labor economy based on low wages and debt which was intended to cope with the abolishment of slavery. One of the most egregious codes was a vagrancy law which allowed authorities to arrest freed black people at their own discretion and commit them to involuntary labor. Along with not being able to testify against whites, serve on juries, or vote, freed blacks were also prohibited from starting a new job without the approval of their former employer. Jim Crow Laws followed Black codes, and systematically excluded African Americans from politics while intentionally denying African American children equal opportunities for education. Throughout Jim Crow in many Southern districts, there was a significant correlation between the frequency of lynchings and economic climate (Hepworth & West). This indicates that violence was another tool widely used to intimidate African Americans and limit their economic mobility. The most notable example of violence in response to economic success of African Americans would be the destruction of Greenwood, Oklahoma (otherwise known as ‘Black Wall Street’) in which law enforcement and the National Guard were complicit, and resulted in an estimated 300 African American deaths (Wormser). Segregation was also enforced by Jim Crow Laws, and did not only negatively affect African Americans economically, but also psychologically and physically. “Evidence suggests that segregation is a key determinant of racial differences in socioeconomic mobility and also creates poor health damaging conditions in the social and physical environment” (Williams & Collins 982). Additionally, the cost of labor market discrimination from 1929–1969 would equal almost $4 trillion today (Feagin 54). Furthermore, it is important to note that the theft of labor and economic oppression was carried out not only by whites acting as individuals, but mostly by “corporations and various local, state, and federal governments whose actions were often backed by law” (50). Joined with the impact of slavery, this oppression can still be felt in modern day black America.
Currently, “black families face poverty at a much greater rate than white families” (Feagin 56). “In 2009, a representative survey of American households revealed that the median wealth of white families was $113,149... [and] $5,677 for black families” (Shapiro, Meschede, & Osoro 1). As Feagin notes, “a significant amount of white America’s wealth has been gained as a direct result of slavery and the subsequent oppression of African Americans... Over several centuries, most whites, as individuals and families, have benefited handsomely from anti-black oppression and the transmission of ill-gotten wealth and privilege from one generation to the next... [the] high standard of living of white Americans [is] significantly rooted in centuries of exploitation and impoverishment of African Americans and other Americans of color” (Feagin 50). This is troubling for many obvious reasons, however, often passed over is the relationship between the racial wealth gap and racial health gap. “Research has identified socioeconomic status as one of the strongest determinants of variations in health in general and the major contributor to racial differences in health, in particular” (Williams & Collins 980). Due to this, “a large gap in health exists between Blacks and Whites, and it is inextricably linked to the history of race and racism in the United States... Thus, the legacy of slavery and legal discrimination still matters for African Americans in the 21st century” (995). It is inarguable that the effects of slavery and the oppression that followed still affect African Americans, however, to what magnitude is difficult to determine. For this reason, an organized and committed effort will have to be made to look further into these effects on living African Americans.
The first step to assessing the issue of reparations would be for the “federal government to establish a commission to study slavery” and the “subsequent racial and economic discrimination against freed slaves” (Conyers). Congressman John Conyers Jr.’s bill H.R. 40 has been reintroduced to Congress since 1989, however it “has not made it out of the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights... Even as the United States demands other nations make moral and economic recompense for their actions, it declines to even consider the possibility of repairing its own history” (Davis 2). Feagin states that this stance parallels the opinion of most white American citizens when it comes to the issue of reparations. “Since there are close historical connections between past and present white privileges and black disabilities, it is not surprising that most whites wish to deny the historical linkages with such phrases as ‘my family and I never owned slaves’ or ‘slavery happened hundreds of years ago—get over it.’ ” These opinions directly oppose any further inquiry into reparations, as “recognition of historical linkages is essential to building strong arguments for restitution and reparations for African Americans” (Feagin 51). However, Congressman Conyers proposes that the approach of establishing a commission to “undertake an official study of the impact of slavery on the social, political and economic life of our nation” will avoid polarizing the nation. The commission established by the H.R. 40 bill would not have the power to take any action, but would instead “make recommendations to Congress on appropriate remedies to redress the harm inflicted on living African Americans” (Conyers).
The United States government has advocated reparations to Jewish, Japanese American, and Native American people, yet refuses to seriously consider reparations to African Americans. However, at one point in time this was not the case. In fact, during Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, a large population of freed African American slaves were successful in petitioning for reparations. Union General William Sherman signed Special Field Order #15 in January of 1865, which gave a large amount of land in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to former slaves. Each African American family was allotted up to 40 acres, and the territory was to be governed by blacks. However, Lincoln was assassinated in April of 1865, and his successor Andrew Johnson promptly overturned the order, giving a majority of the land to former slave owners instead. Recently, a conscious avoidance of reparations was exhibited in a statement made by the Senate in 2009 apologizing for slavery and Jim Crow Laws. " ‘A national apology by the representative body of the people is a necessary collective response to a past collective injustice,’ Senator Tom Harkin said. ‘So, it is both appropriate and imperative that Congress fulfill its moral obligation and officially apologize for slavery and Jim Crow laws.’ The resolution states the congressional apology is made to African Americans on behalf of the people of the United States for ‘the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors.’ That is followed, however, by a disclaimer that says nothing in the resolution authorizes any claim against the United States. Kansas Republican Sam Brownback, who cosponsored the measure, says that disclaimer was necessary to win the support of senators who feared the apology could be used by African-Americans seeking reparations” (Welna). This leads one to question why government would feel the need to be proactive in preventing claims for reparations. Would there be anything to fear if claims for reparations were indeed unsubstantiated and unjustified? Furthermore, if reparations were actually justified, then why would the government be afraid of pursuing justice for nearly 15% of its citizens? This solidifies the argument that a commission should be established to thoroughly study this issue and come to a logical conclusion.
In conclusion, if the government were to seriously consider issuing reparations to African Americans, it would look to clear past injustices, but more so assess their effects on the present day. Then, informed recommendations would be made with the aim of ridding modern-day America of those negative effects. The racial economic disparities in America “began in early white gains from slavery and [have] persisted under legal segregation and contemporary racism” (Feagin 51). These disparities have been accepted as normal and relatively unchangeable, and they will remain that way until the causes and effects are seriously addressed and ultimately redressed through reparations to African Americans.
Works Cited
Baptist, Edward. The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism.Basic Books, 2014.
Conyers Jr., John. "Issues: Reparations." Reparations.2014. Web. 1 May 2015. <http://conyers.house.gov/index.cfm/reparations>.
Davis, Adrienne. "The Case for United States Reparations to African Americans." Human Rights Brief 7.3 (2000): 15. Washington College of Law. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. <http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1542&context=hr brief>.
Feagin, Joe. "Documenting the Costs of Slavery, Segregation, and Contemporary Racism: Why Reparations Are in Order for African Americans." Harvard Black Letter Law Journal 20 (2004). http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/blj/vol20/feagin.pdf.
Hepworth, Joseph, and Stephen West. "Lynchings and the Economy: A Time-series Reanalysis of Hovland and Sears (1940)." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 55.2 (1988). Print.
Shapiro, Thomas, Tatjana Meschede, and Sam Osoro. "The Roots of the Widening Racial Wealth Gap: Explaining the Black-White Economic Divide." Research and Policy Brief (2013): 18. Institute on Assets and Social Policy. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. <http://iasp.brandeis.edu/pdfs/Author/shapirothomasm/racialwealthgapbrief.pdf>
Swanson, Emily. "Americans Can't Even Stomach An Apology For Slavery, Much Less Reparations." The Huffington Post.TheHuffingtonPost.com, 2 June 2014. Web. 9 Apr. 2015. <Americans Can't Even Stomach An Apology For Slavery, Much Less Reparations.
Welna, David. "Senate Apologizes For Slavery." NPR. NPR, 18 June 2009. Web. 19 Apr.
Don't shock me but it's fukked up nonetheless