Why March for Reparations?
On a clear Sunday morning at Freedom Plaza in downtown Washington, D.C., people began to gather for the National Reparations March. As DJ Shablast began to set up his microphones, videographers and photographers carefully placed their tripods and tested their equipment. “Excuse me. Is this where the Reparations march will be held?” inquired one lady in bright, flowing garments. “Yes, ma’am!” was the resounding answer. She later went on to reveal that she traveled all the way from Tampa, Florida to attend and that she was on her way to Juneau, Alaska next week. Why you may ask? She wanted to personally deliver a plea for reparations to representatives in all state capitals of the United States. This passionate and dedicated Reparationist has been to 48 state capitals so far and that’s amazing!
As you may know, there is a new resurgence in the Reparations movement that has taken hold of our community. There is a renewed outcry for justice and payment on the debt that is owed. A debt that has been owed since 1865 when General William T. Sherman issued Special Field Order No. 15 to give forty acres and a mule as restitution for the sin of slavery and to ensure a future for Freedmen. He worked with former slaves, ministers and abolitionists who decided that land and a mule would be the best way to repay Freedmen and give them agency in the country that they built. As we know, the government not only failed (to make good) on this promise, but they also employed political strategies and established laws to aggressively subvert the growth, health and well-being (social and financial opportunity) of Freedmen.
Fast forward roughly 150 years and Freedmen still have not been made whole. Although there is some discussion of reparations within the Black community and even mention of reparations in political campaigns (even at the Presidential level), there are still questions, concerns, anger and frustration when this topic is debated both in mainstream media and in more local grassroots discursive political spaces.
So, the question remains: Why is Reparations such a hotbed topic? Why do so many people get up in arms when mention is made of reparations to Black American Freedmen? The answer may lie in the wide variety of misinformation surrounding the topic of reparations. Consider the following oft-repeated misstatements made both in mainstream traditional media and on social media.
“The Civil War was recompense enough for Blacks. So many white people died in the name of freeing them.”
Yes, more than 620,000 people died while fighting in the Civil War, but Freedmen died in the effort too. In fact, without the help of daring Freedmen like the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, the Union might not have succeeded in winning the war. The death toll was high, but ultimately necessary to end the stain of slavery and move the country forward. Unfortunately, Freedmen were left with a mere pittance to survive on after risking life and limb for the freedoms this country holds dear.
“President Obama was your reparations!”
Of all the ignorant and insulting things to say! Mitch McConnell, minority leader of the Senate, actually said this: "We tried to deal with our original sin of slavery by fighting a Civil War, by passing landmark civil rights legislation, elected an African American president…I don't think we should be trying to figure out how to compensate for it. First of all, it would be hard to figure out whom to compensate." Firstly, while President Barack Obama traces his African roots to a Kenyan father, he is not a Freedmen. A Freedmen is a person who can trace a least one ancestor back to slavery. He is an African-American in the truest sense of the word, as his father was Kenyan and his mother a white woman from Kansas. Barack Obama has no ties to US chattel slavery in his lineage, nor does he have to live with the legacy of slavery in his daily life. Secondly, electing an African-American president is largely symbolic and does very little for those who suffered Jim Crow, convict leasing, redlining, predatory lending, mass incarceration, and countless other predatory political campaigns that affect Freedmen’s lives directly. Stated plainly, Mitch, there is a way to find out who should be compensated: if a Black person can trace their lineage back to the 1870 census or earlier to an enslaved ancestor AND has marked ‘Black/African American’ on a census in the last 10 years, then they are owed reparations.
“The Irish were slaves too!”
This is an Internet theory that is simply not true. While many Irish did come to America as indentured servants, they were not chattel slaves in the US. And even if they were, what does that have to do with the price of tea in China? If Irish people can prove that their ancestors were slaves, then they should have a claim just like Freedmen do. Just because you and your ancestors didn’t fight for reparations, doesn’t mean that you should demean the reparations claim and fight for equity and justice of a marginalized group of people that are still suffering as we speak from the horrific inhumanities systematically waged against their people.
“My family wasn’t in America when there were slaves. And no one alive is a slave. We owe nothing!”
Firstly, many people left their countries of origin to come to America to fulfill their hopes and dreams. But people must realize that when you emigrate to a country, you also take on their reputation, wins, losses and debts. Even today, if you go to live in Germany, you will have to pay into the system that pays reparations to those standing in the shoes of Holocaust survivors. These are the costs you pay to live in a country with outstanding debts. Secondly, the debt has remained for over 150 years, and until it is paid, the government is still responsible regardless of whether those who endured American chattel slavery are still living.
This brand of misinformation can be found in online chat groups and from garden variety racist internet trolls anytime Black people are having critical discussions about reparations. Where were all these naysayers to reparations when President Biden allocated $31 billion to Native American communities? Where were these trolls when Ukraine received billions from a ‘blank check’ or when Americans received stimulus checks during the COVID pandemic? Again where were these racists when the Japanese were paid reparations for their internment during World War II? Clearly this is more a case of anti-Blackness than a logical argument against reparations for Freedmen. As with all the examples above, no American’s taxes increased or life changed for the worse when the US allocated and paid astronomical amounts of many to the aforementioned groups. As such, there is no explanation for anyone to be against reparations for descendants of US chattel slavery except ant-Black racism.
With all that said, when Freedmen march for reparations, lend your support! We need Freedmen of all ages, economic levels, and walks of life to stand together and unite around the issue of reparations. It is, all at once, crucial, critical, and essential for the United States to pay what they owe and repair the damage that was done to our people. March! Donate! Evangelize the need for restitution, recompense, and reparations which includes cash payments for those standing in the shoes of our ancestors: the US Freedmen.
