Forty Acres And A Mule Revisited

In recent times the reparations issue has forced its way back into the public discourse

By Angela Brooks

The year 2019 marks 400 years since the arrival of the first African slaves in American shores. A person mind could become wrapped at the injustices of that “peculiar institution” and deaths of countless numbers during the “Middle Passage.“

Despite the degradations of slavery, broken promises, Jim Crow, and pervasive racism, African Americans have a boundless love of country.

Indeed; from Vietnam, and Afghanistan, African Americans have shed blood to keep the red in the red, white and blue.

In recent times the reparations issue has forced its way back into the public discourse and in the current political climate in some cases reopening racial wounds.

There are historical precedents. For reparations, of course, Japanese Americans and Native Americans have been compensated for the harm done to them by the American government. People of the Jewish faith enjoin the World ever to forget the Holocaust. Indeed, it will stand forever as a testament to our periodic bouts of inhumanity. However, when it comes to African American issues, America develops selective amnesia.

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In this state of bliss institutional racism, in the justice system, education, and virtually all aspects of African American life magically do not exist. Attempts to redress societal imbalance through programs such as Affirmative Action have been rebuffed Reverse Discrimination by those who strive to maintain ethnic superiority.

Slavery is the indelible stain at the heart of the unique American tapestry. Failure to honestly address this only ensures problems to persist. Perhaps we need South African style Truth and Reconciliation Committee historical record outlined and people educated about the consequences of slavery and push the need for real change.

African Americans are not looking for a handout. Respect and recognition of our unique role in American history are all that ask. The country should live up to its core beliefs. We want our country to love us, as we love it.

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