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Justify Slavery
Reparations are intended to make up for the unjustified actions of the past. By doing so, it punishes the people of today to make up for the actions from the people in the past. Should a person in today’s generation suffer for the actions of our ancestors? Should one collect special benefits for the suffering of their ancestors? By offering special benefits, would it solve or make up for the injustice of slavery? African Americans did suffer in the past from the injustice of slavery. Take in mind that it was the past, and the injustice of slavery does not affect African Americans in today’s day and time. White Americans in today’s day and time did not own or have anything to do with slavery. If one was to be punished or receive special benefits it should be the people that slavery directly affected.
In the history of the United States the American Indians were slaughtered, and are still collecting for the injustice actions of the past. America is still providing help, and handing out special benefits. American Indians receive special benefits such as land being put aside called reservations, allowed to put up casinos, and are able to receive scholarship funds for college with fewer qualifications. The experience that the American Indians went through was a lot worse than the experience that the African Americans faced. In both cases I believe that the people of today should not have to feel guilty for the actions of their ancestors.
If the Unites States developed reparations program for the injustice of slavery of African Americans it would create no good but only conflict. Two wrongs do not make a right. Punishing the people of today for the actions of the past creates reverse racism. It’s simply stating that because one is African American that he or she deserves special benefits. It forms racism towards other races. It is saying that just because one is not African American that they do not deserve to receive special treatment, and that they are not as good as African Americans. African Americans today were never slaves, nor were white Americans today slave owners. African Americans have recovered from slavery, and do not need any extra help. It is more satisfying to accomplish something on ones own.
Alternatively, since it was initially the ancestors of Caucasian’s that enslaved African’s their descendents should not have to compensate African Americans for what they performed. The descendents did not have any direct involvement in any way and can not change the actions of their past and should not be held liable. If Caucasian’s were to give reparations to African Americans how would they know for a fact they were giving it to the descendant of a slave? Most African Americans can not trace their hi...
For over 200 years people of African descent were enslaved by Anglo-Saxons, having to endure painful hardships and not really even having an identity. After the Emancipation Proclamation they were supposedly "free" but were still considered a lesser people by many white Americans, even to the present day. But the question that has been posed and that we have read about is whether or not black Americans should receive monetary compensation for their hardships.
Last year, Ta-Nehisis Coates’ Atlantic article “The Case for Reparations” threw a national spotlight on a debate and movement that has been ongoing, yet for the large part unseen, for more than 150 years. Reparations suddenly became a topic of national debate, which like most things today focused on the merits of the idea versus proposing any real solutions to the issues. Coates’ article is no different, offering a litany of offensives without proposing any real solvency to the issues that have oppressed the black community in America for the past several hundred years.
Reparations is defined as the act of making amends, giving satisfaction for a wrong or injury, or helping those who have been wronged. Coates argues that no one really has a solid idea on how to go about reparations for African-Americans. This is due to the fact
So why shouldn't the great-great grandchildren of those who worked for free and were deprived of education and were kept in bondage not be compensated? Why should American taxpayers who never owned slaves pay for the sins of ancestors they don't even know? Ask one question and it leads to another. How would the economy be affected? How do you put a price tag on over two centuries of legalized inhumanity? In what form would reparations be paid? How would you establish who is a descendant? Questions start debates.
Ta-Nehisi Coates, author of the article “The Case for Reparations” presents a powerful argument for reparations to black African American for a long time of horrendous injustice as slavery plus discrimination, violence, hosing policies, family incomes, hard work, education, and more took a place in black African American’s lives. He argues that paying such a right arrears is not only a matter of justice; however, it is important for American people to express how they treated black African Americans.
In contrast the African American group of people have already been given some reparations from the government. The descendants of the slaves here in America are showered with government aid David Horowitz states that “trillions of dollars in transfer payments have been made to African-Americans in the form of welfare benefits and racial preferences in contracts, job placements and educational admissions”. Since the 60’s, acts and bills have been passed to return justice to the African-American community. For example the passing of the Civil Rights Act presented by President Lyndon B. Johnson. banned the discrimination of race. In addition, Horowitz asks “if trillion-dollar restitutions and the rewriting of American law is not enough to achieve healing, what is?”. Meaning the government has worked to better the social lives of African-Americans as well as economically. Though, the African-American people have already been given some restitution for being victims to the system of slavery, not enough has been
Instead, they will give individual African Americans and the community as a whole a chance to create their own economic base and become self-reliant. Supporters also say that African Americans will have a chance to become self-reliant and create their own economic base. This is not a valid argument because many of them live in America and they already have the same advantages to be able to make their own economic base and become self-reliant without the help of reparations. In addition, this will increase the misuse of money given to those individuals who are given the aid. If we were to select individuals to give the money to, there is no guarantee that this money will be spent
“After 250 years of enslavement in America, African Americans were still terrorized in Deep South; they were pinned to the ghettos, overcrowded, overcharged, discriminated, and undereducated”. The best solution is to owe them reparations. To aid them out of their unjust inherit status. The novel is based on real life situations of many African Americans that had to face during slave, and post slave era in the United States of America. The purpose is to show that not having reparations for the African Americans lead to many downsides to the nation’s inequalities. In the novel “The Case for Reparations” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, he uses just ethics and remorse obligation, to demonstrate the nation should to pay for the damage done to the black community.
Imagine you’re young, and alone. If your family was taken from you and suffered horribly for your freedom, would you want to be repaid in some form? In the article “The Case for Reparations” Ta-Nehisi Coates discusses a great deal of information about reparations, and if they should be given. Reparations are when a person or people make amends for the wrong they have done. Ta-Nehisi believes that from two hundred years of slavery, ninety years of Jim Crow laws, sixty years of separate but equal, and thirty five years of racist housing policy, that America is shackled. Only if we face the compounding moral debt can America be free. Until we face the reality of what happened together, we will always be bound by the lies that have been told.
The United States government should pay reparations to African Americans as a means of admitting their wrong-doing and making amends. The damages African Americans have sustained from White America’s policy of slavery have been agonizing and inhumane. Therefore, I am in favor of reparations for African Americans. The effect of slavery has been an enduring issue within the African American community. Many of us are cognizant of the harm racism brought to the African American race, conveyed through slavery, racial segregation and discrimination. African Americans suffered many atrocities, but the greatest damage done to them was the destruction of they’re original identity. African Americans no longer have a native language or any African customs to connect them to Africa. Today, African Americans are connected together because they all share a common foundation-the horrendous experience of slavery-and the great effort to conquer its lingering result.(www.AcedemicLibrary.com)
As the years go by we can see the aftermath of what slavery, segregation and racism toward African Americans have done to Blacks. African Americans have suffered many brutal treatment that has affected us physically and mentally and we are still dealing with the repercussion of the many years of oppression. The Declaration of Independence was written hundreds of years ago stating all men are equal but African Americans are still socially and racially unequal to White America. Until now Blacks have been given insufficient credit of the basis of where humanity and civilization started. Throughout our educational history we’ve learned that the Egyptians created Egypt not including the Egyptians were African Americans and we’ve also learned from textbooks the European’s created many inventions, founded many countries and established these intelligent philosopher’s and writers we study from today basically making Europeans the superior race for many Countries but not even mentioning the contributions of African Americans and what they have done and how much they have accomplished for civilization. When we look at film and literature we can dissect and repair the image of African Americans by looking at written evidence, documentaries and movies to see the hidden truth.
In conclusion, despite the popular belief that blacks deserve reparations for their past treatment, our country cannot and should not afford them special treatment on
African American history plays a huge role in history today. From decades of research we can see the process that this culture went through and how they were depressed and deculturalized. In school, we take the time to learn about African American History but, we fail to see the aspects that African Americans had to overcome to be where they are today. We also fail to view life in their shoes and fundamentally understand the hardships and processes that they went through. African Americans were treated so terribly and poor in the last century and, they still are today. As a subordinate race to the American White race, African Americans were not treated equal, fair, human, or right under any circumstances. Being in the subordinate position African Americans are controlled by the higher white group in everything that they do.
Now let's assume that this argumentation is invalid for one reason or another. Let's assume the lack of self-confidence and self-respect that today's blacks and women are suffering from may deserve some compensation. But before continuing, it seems necessary to narrow the range of who qualifies for compensation for suffering. The issue at hand concerns today's blacks and today's women. Today's society is not responsible for incidents preceding its own existence. Other opinions may not coincide with this belief, but I do not feel any responsibility for the positive or negative actions of my grandfather or my father. However, as a member of society I will take responsibility for the positive or negative actions of society today. For example, today's society is not responsible for blacks or women's lack of voting rights years ago. If for some reason we were responsible, how could this possibly be repaid? Make a black or female vote count two or three times? No, this is preposterous. We have canceled our debts, simply by giving them a right to vote and a say in the election of their representatives. Now that is not to say that today's society is not responsible for the discrimination of blacks and women in recent years. But, even prior to the lifetime of those that would be most affected by preferential hiring: both blacks and women have had the right to vote; discrimination based on race, color, religion, or sex has been illegal; segregation has ended; and the civil rights movement has taken place.