Slavery Reparations

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Racism, discrimination and slavery were major problems in the United States for over 300 years; and continue to impact African-American’s lives today. Slavery first began in the 1690’s when members of African tribes were stripped from their homes and taken to America on ships filled with soon to be slaves. Many slaves often died from disease, malnutrition, or suicide, in effort to avoid their future enslavement. After hundreds of years of slavery, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation making slavery illegal in the United States. Slavery continued on for many years; and racism still presents itself in today’s society and continues to limit and degrade African descendants. Many people strongly believe that African-American’s should be recompensed for the suffering of their ancestors. In 2003, Chicago passed an ordinance forcing major institutions that conduct business with the city, such as banks, insurance companies, bond underwriters and other financial vendors, to research their history and determine any links with slavery. One major business that was forced to research their history is JP Morgan Chase and Co., the nations second largest bank. JP Morgan Chase was the first company to acknowledge their links to slavery. Two of JP Morgan Chase’s predecessor banks, Citizens Bank and Canal Bank, accepted slaves as collateral for mortgages and loans. JP Morgan Chase and Co. estimates that the two previous banks "accepted approximately 13,000 enslaved individuals as collateral and that the banks came to own approximately 1,250 enslaved individuals as a result" of defaults. Another financial institution that was forced to dig up their history related to slavery is Wachovia, now known as Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo is ma... ... middle of paper ... ...ay’s society. Slave descendants have been minimally affected as a result of slavery. I do agree there could be a possible psychological effect as a result of slavery; but other than that, nothing. African-Americans were not alive at the time of slavery, so they do not deserve to be paid for something that they personally did not suffer from. I also believe it would be un-fair for corporations and white individuals to pay for a wrongdoing they did not commit. However, in today’s world, segregation and racism are still strongly present. Proof of this is the almost doubled unemployment rate of African-Americans compared to white Americans, lower income rate, and high amount of blacks in prisons and jails across the country. As a way of addressing these issues, I believe African-Americans should receive some type of subsidy for graduating from a college or university.

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