The sin of racism and a solution: Reparations for African Americans – The News Journal

Dr. Alton A. Williams, Special to the USA TODAY NETWORK Published 5:00 a.m. ET June 13, 2020 | Updated 12:21 p.m. ET June 13, 2020

Protesters that were among the nearly two dozen taken into custody while demonstrating in Camden Tuesday said they were injured and poorly treated by police in a 12-hour ordeal. Delaware News Journal

Racism in America is as repugnant as any human indignity experienced in all of world history including the Holocaust, killings by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, apartheid in South Africa and on and on. Racism is an abject sin of depravity of the human soul. It is evil and devilish and it must be atoned for. White America and others who have contributed to this system for personal gain must repent both individually and collectively for being the beneficiaries of a system of discrimination, privilege, monetary gain, hatred and yes, even brutal lynchings and indiscriminate murder.

The biblical standard for personal relationships in all aspects is known simply as the Golden Rule. It is stated in the Old Testament in Leviticus 19:18 and it was a direct quote of Jesus in the New Testament in Matthew 7:12 and then again in Luke 6:31. Stated quite simply the Golden Rule is, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Dover protesters continued their trend of peaceful protesting this week, advocating for black equality/(Photo: Andre Lamar, Dover Post)

What does atonement look like? One must first humble oneself, pray, and seek Gods nature and turn (repent, atone) from ones wicked ways. Racism is a wicked way. It must give way to the Spirit of the Lord. What is the Biblical standard for wickedness? It is a synonym for evil or sinfulness. Among theologians and philosophers, it has a more specific meaning of evil committed consciously and of free will.

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The fact that racism in these United States was committed by free people knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily of their free will absent any duress is what makes racism so despicable. The African people brought to this country as slaves along with Native Americans already living in the colonies taught the white colonists which plants they could eat safely. They taught them how to prepare their food. They built shelters and monuments to their white heroes. In spite of the many contributions of enslaved people, they died at the hands of those same colonists who stole their lives, their children and their humanity.

This history of ungodliness must give way to the Spirit of the Lord. One must cry out to God and ask Him to forgive the wickedness perpetrated on black Americans for centuries. Then and only then will the heart and hand of God move as He promises to forgive your sins and heal your land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

An aspect of atonement is financial restitution reparations for centuries of enslavement, Jim Crow, lynchings, separate but equal policies and repressive laws, denied livable wage jobs and the existence of centuries of free labor. It is easy for any business to survive and thrive on the basis of free labor.

Robert Johnson, the first black billionaire, is calling for reparations to the tune of $14 trillion for 400 years of degradation. I would add to that figure the concept of treble damages. Treble damages are intended to be punitive in order to deter others from committing the same offenses. These damages are imposed to not only punish the perpetrator but to also compensate the plaintiff.

Dr. Alton A. Williams(Photo: Alton A. Williams)

Therefore, I am proposing that every African- American man, woman, and child be awarded $1,052,301 ($350,767 x 3 = treble damages ) for the legacy of slavery imposed upon their lives.These cash payments can be paid over a 1 to 3 year period.To all African- Americans nationwide the great wealth transfer is about to happen. The last shall be first( Matthew 19:30).

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Recall how Moses was used by God to set the Hebrew slaves free after 400 years of bondage? God used the tenth and final plague to loosen the grip of bondage and permitted the Hebrews to leave enslavement with all of the wealth of Egypt. The wealth was released not because the Hebrews insisted upon it but because it was the will of God. By the way that wealth has never left the descendants of those slaves unto this day. Likewise, my fellow African American citizens, do not fret about how this transfer will happen since it will be accomplished by the will of God. I believe God is setting the stage now and is speaking volumes in the streets and in cities throughout the world.

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George Floyds death will not be in vain. It doesnt matter that it is not the will of taxpayers to pay reparations, nor if it is not in the hearts of most lawmakers, nor if it is not in the mind of the current president. We will not have to beg for what is rightfully ours. God will judge and He Himself will right the wrongs. We simply need to stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord. How He does it will be His miracle.

Have faith because Black Lives Matter to God.

Dr. Alton A. Williams is a practicing optometrist in Wilmington.

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The sin of racism and a solution: Reparations for African Americans - The News Journal