The Argument for Reparations
"Reparations - a way to repair the wrongs
Whenever people have been deprived of their labor, freedom, or life without cause (except their race, ethnicity, or religion) as a matter of group or national policy, then they should be compensated for their loss.
Reparations are always based on real loss, not perceived loss. Human beings must have been moved completely off their own cultural and social foundations, and against their will, forcibly and without mercy, in order for reparations to be required. This is the case for many Africans living in the diaspora.
Reparations can be argued on the following grounds : (1) forced migration, (2) forced deprivation of culture, (3) forced labor, and (4) forced deprivation of wealth by segregation and racism.
Reparations would ensure (1) recognition of the African's loss, (2) compensations for the loss, (3) psychological relief for both blacks and whites in terms of guilt and anger and (4) national unity based on a stronger political will.
To mete out this loss as a starting point, is to approach the issue of reparations in terms of money but not necessary cash as follows:
: establish an organization that would evaluate how reparations would be determined and distributed, i.e. The National Commission of African Americans (NCAA)
: issue full access to public and private education to all descendants of enslaved Africans for the next 123 years, half the time Africans worked in this country for free. This would mean that all expenses of students who qualified for college would be covered, directly or indirectly through vouchers, by the government.
: Inequities at the elementary and secondary levels that would prevent students from successfully qualifying for higher education would be addressed in two ways.
(i) elementary and secondary curricula would be infused with Afrocentric content so that students who sit in classrooms would not feel that they are alien to the subject being taught...
(ii) at the secondary level, the educational support needs of the students, including tutoring and mentoring, would be taken care by the federal government.
: free access to health care" (Molefi Kete Asante, Erasing Racism p.252-265)