Unfortunately a country or nation cannot refer to one’s past and pay reparations for “crimes against humanity” towards a single race of people that were enslaved nor can they punish the offending race that enslaved them. Slavery was about economics and domination of one culture by another (that could have been of another race or the same race) for the economic gain and development of that society. That in itself is indeed a heinous crime but all countries and cultures going back to biblical times and the romans have practiced it. We cannot undo our past nor can we continue to scream social injustice and perpetuate it and continually teach that a group of people are “owed” reparations for deeds of our country’s past. This perpetuates the division of races and cultures in our country and only continually festers the wounds of our past. We will never heal as a nation as long as we keep picking at these wounds. It’s time to remember our past for what it is, a point in time that can only serve our purpose today by using it as a tool to remember and teach going forward what we should not be doing and what steps can we take to grow as a society today to make sure it never happens again.
[03/13/18] Interesting piece on WOSU Ohio about White Lies: The Truth About Segregation in America a forum that was hosted by the Columbus Metropolitan Club on March 7, 2018 and was being aired this morning as I happened to catch the close of it while channel surfing.
High points: Stratifications and policy and subconscious bias being passed on from generation to generation both by whites and blacks.
The panel included “The Color of Law” author Richard Rothstein who reveals the long history on federal, state and local governments role in segregation, and the long lasting consequences. Lawrence Funderburke, former OSU and NBA basketball star, and the author of “Sociopsychonomics”, and Noceeba Southern, administrative law judge, former state court judge and federal prosecutor.
I am going to try and read the book by Richard Rothstein.
U.S. owes black people reparations for a history of ‘racial terrorism,’ says U.N. panel
By Ishaan Tharoor September 27, 2016, WorldViews, The Washington Post
The history of slavery in the United States justifies reparations for African Americans, argues a recent report by a U.N.-affiliated group based in Geneva.
This conclusion was part of a study by the United Nations’ Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, a body that reports to the international organization’s High Commissioner on Human Rights. The group of experts, which includes leading human rights lawyers from around the world, presented its findings to the United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday, pointing to the continuing link between present injustices and the dark chapters of American history………