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Editorial/Column
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orty (40) acres and a
mule. That was the compensation the United States government promised to give every freed African slave in America following the passing of the 13th amendment.
Unfortunately, as is typi- cally the case with most of the deals the federal govern- ment agreed to, it was re- neged upon. And, 150 years after slavery was abolished, the progeny of those who suffered the inhumanity of that barbaric system are still waiting for Uncle Sam to honor that commitment.
For some, the quest for slavery reparations is a fool’s errand. No president (in- cluding Barack Obama) has ever seriously endorsed it and today a majority of the Black legislators in Congress, who could push the issue, hate to even acknowledge the topic.
Those who are in agree- ment with denying any form of reparations come up with a multitude of reasons to go against the grain, including their belief that it's not finan- cially feasible, the difficulty it would entail to make sure it only applied to those who ac- tually qualify and how the implementation of policies such as affirmative action and welfare could have satis- fied the government's obliga- tion.
But it's far more likely that the truth is simply a matter of fearful politicians being deathly afraid to of-
fend their white constituents. This is what the ADOS (American Descendants Of Slavery), an organization created for the sole purpose of forcing the United States to reimburse the Black com- munity for the labor it used from enslaved Africans, is up against. Not only do they have to contend with a con- tingency of non-slave de- scendants who don't see the issue as important, but they must also wrangle with Black elected officials who are more concerned with main- taining their offices in Wash- ington, D.C., than they are with righting the wrong that was done to their own peo-
ple.
One of the problems I be-
lieve individuals have with supporting the reparations movement is the stigma it has of being some sort of free hand out. The thing that seems to get lost in the dis- cussion is that the money owed to slave descendants in America comes as a direct re- sult of the blood, sweat, tears, dignity and lives that were sacrificed by their an- cestors, who didn't earn a penny, while those who op- pressed them raked in huge profits.
Forty (40) acres and one farm animal, which has been estimated to be the equiva- lent of somewhere between $25-$40,000 by 2019 stan- dards, is a small pittance to pay considering the abun- dance of generational wealth that was created over the
course of 300 years. In fact, by only demanding such a small amount in return, American Blacks actually seem to be low-balling them- selves.
When you look at all of the banks (Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan), universities (Georgetown and Harvard are two prominent exam- ples) and billion dollar in- dustries (most notably Big Cotton and Big Tobacco) that were able to establish their business interests be- cause of a slave economy, it stands to reason that many other institutions should be cutting a check as well. But that's a discussion for an- other time.
Right now, the push is for the fulfillment of an agree- ment already established. Making sure that the fami- lies, whose history of finan- cial, emotional and psychological suffering dates back to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, are compen- sated should garner just as much attention from the African-American commu- nity as criminal justice re- form, health care and the high rate of unemployment.
As the 2020 election ap- proaches every politician pandering for the Black vote needs to have a full under- standing that, along with everything else, this too is on the table.
When it comes to repara- tions they should either com- mit themselves fully to helping secure our bag or risk being replaced by some- one who will.
Our ancestors may have been forced to work for free, but our votes should not.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can contact Mr. Barr at: cbar- ronice@gmail.com.
Time To Secure The Bag
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Breathing New Life Into A Proven Idea
OPE (Hillsborough Organization on Progress
and Equality) is once again moving into the fore- front of local social issues by demanding local munici- palities pay more attention about police-community relations.
It is a concern whose impact and presence is over- due. Brought about by a rash of public-police missteps that included arrests of ‘Black bicyclists and a slew of other incidents that signal a possible return to tension between Black citizens and police, HOPE has voiced the requirement that cities in our county return to a time when each police agency placed a priority on positive community relations.
We refer to the concept of Law Enforcement Com- munity Sensitivity Training, begun by such groups and individuals as St. Petersburg Junior College (now St. Petersburg College), Tokley and Associates (whose training included sensitivity training of Tampa Police Department, Clearwater Police Department, St. Peters- burg Police Department and other Florida police de- partments), Fred Hearns (who led City of Tampa Police –Community Workshops), as well as the Florida De- partment of Law Enforcement, which adopted such concepts and provided them throughout the State of Florida.
But, when publicity waned, the fervor for police- community sensitivity training died, and the idea be- came something found maybe, on the internet.
Therefore, we applaud HOPE for reminding local police agencies that the struggle to be humane is not over.
Bring back police sensitivity training. Reinstate the civility before somebody makes an unpardonable mis- take that sets our society on fire.
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