The first enslaved Africans were brought to the United States of America over 400 years ago. In the years that succeeded, a nation was created, divided, reunited, and reconstructed, all while becoming one of the most powerful countries on the planet. Despite all of its feats, however, America has failed to do one thing: compensate those individuals who literally grew the nation, and whose ancestors suffered from generations of anti-Black policies.

Now, it has to.

Following are excerpts from Seth Cohen’s Forbes article, “An Overdue Debt — Why It’s Finally Time To Pay Reparations To Black Americans.” He details the intricacies of why African-Americans need reparations:

“If there is anything the past several months has taught us, America cannot ignore its past. A nation founded on the premise of liberty and justice for all has failed to deliver that promise. There has not been true justice for Americans who are Black, and particularly ancestors of slaves in America. The unjust enrichment that the United States received from its slaveholding past, valued at over $3 billion in 1860, has compounded exponentially ever since, never been recompensed. Beyond America’s original sin of slavery, the systems of institutional racism, income inequality, and police violence that continued to prejudice Black citizens following the Civil War have never been fully addressed. This is why the streets are full of protests. It’s not because of pent-up frustration from a pandemic, or sudden anger at police violence. It’s because of unfulfilled promises and unserved justice.

The argument for the payment of reparations to Americans who are descendants of those who were enslaved is nothing new, but it does take on new urgency as the United States comes to terms with its legacy of racism in the aftermath of the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. Even before the recent protests, the pandemic laid bare the truth Black Americans suffer not only from vast amounts of income inequality and racial injustice, but also from disparities in health and wellbeing. While the marching on the streets has made Americans’ awareness of the impacts of systemic racism more acute, the truth is that the country knew what it was responsible for – it just refused the moral courage to make the necessary reparations.

The moral justification for reparations stands on its own, but the evidence of the wide income inequality gap between white and Black Americans also demonstrates that reparations are both necessary and needed. Based on research aggregated by the Brookings Institute in its policy brief titled “Why we need reparations for Black Americans,” the average white family possesses approximately 10 times the amount of wealth as the average Black family, and white college graduates have more than seven times the wealth of Black college graduates. Additionally, there is a huge disparity in the amount of student debt owned by white and Black individuals. According to the same research by Brookings, 40 percent of Blacks, compared to 30 percent of whites in the 22-55-year-old range have student debt, and Black individuals have approximately 50% more student loan debt than white individuals. Disparities in home values, business investment, and the cost of unjust incarceration also add to the toll that the legacy of slavery and anti-Black policies have had on Black families.”

Cohen would continue to discuss reparations and dispel many misconceptions that people have surrounding the viability of effectively paying African-Americans: 

“There are claims that America can’t afford to pay reparations, especially now. But it is precisely this moment in history that shows America can repay what it unjustly received. The federal government, in the span of just weeks, approved over $2.35 trillion of  stimulus funding to support the American economy – and that doesn’t include the almost $4 billion the Federal Reserve spent endeavoring to do the same. The actions, and their eye-popping amounts, demonstrate that the funds are available when the urgency demands it, even if it means increasing the national debt.

History has also proven the willingness of America to spend when it needs to address the hardship of its citizens – during the New Deal of the 1930’s, the United States spent the equivalent of approximately $50 trillion in today’s dollars to help the nation rebound from the Great Depression. After World War II, the U.S. paid over $1.5 billion to Japanese-Americans who were detained in internment camps in compensation for the inhumane policy of a nation. The spending hasn’t only been domestic. America spent trillions of aid dollars rebuilding nations around the world following World War II and other wars in which it was engaged.

So, if it’s not the ability to spend the money, what is it?

Some might say the logistics of reparations are too complicated. Who would get the funds and how would they get them? Would they be in the form of cash payments or credits? Or perhaps specific programs targeted to Black individuals, such as free college tuition or other programs that help bridge income inequality? These are all challenges that can and should be solved – if America can fly humans to the moon, it can find ways to redress the injustice of people who toiled on its own land.”

Cohen would reiterate the long-lasting social and economic impact that slavery has had on the Black community throughout history. At this point in time, the varied anti-Black legislation formed to suppress generations are finally being acknowledged and understood by the masses. At this moment where many Americans are looking inwards to themselves and the institutions they uphold, we also must focus on settling the debts that are long owed to the Black community. We can only continue to hope and fight for those in power to finally do what is right.

Source: Forbes