Last summer, while the world watched in horror as a police officer knelt on the neck of George Floyd, an unarmed father of five, my communitys gaze turned toward another atrocity unfolding right before our eyes. COVID-19 has disproportionately devastated the African American community, as Black people in the United States are twice as likely to die as a result of contracting COVID-19, and people of color constitute a significant portion of the frontline workers who bear the brunt of exposure to the virus. The whirlwind events of 2020 including the pandemic, George Floyds murder, and the subsequent resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement brought the topics of institutionalized discrimination, racism, and oppression to the forefront of national discussions regarding equality, causing the subject of reparations to dominate public consciousness like never before.
For example, as the novel coronavirus preys especially on individuals with underlying conditions, the outbreak has revealed the large-scale impacts of structural racism on the health of African Americans nationwide. According to a peer-reviewed study conducted by Harvard researchers, if the United States had paid reparations to the descendants of enslaved Black Americans, the risk of severe illness and death from the virus would be far lower, in some cases even diminishing statewide coronavirus transmission by up to 68%. This studys findings reinforce the burgeoning evidence-based philosophy that reparations can significantly combat systemic racism in the United States. However, despite intense national conversations and public demonstrations in recent years surrounding anti-racist messaging, progressives have yet to pursue meaningful legislative solutions to the systemic issues they denonce, particularly by neglecting the idea of reparations.
Will financial restitution eradicate prejudice or pervasive racial hatred in American society? Certainly not, but it will undoubtedly aid in closing the enormous divide between Black and White American wealth, and in turn, diminish racial gaps in education, health care, employment, and housing access. Implementing comprehensive reparations would not only guarantee compensation for the unpaid, forced labor that Black people supplied for over 200 years, but also diminish the wealth gap between White and Black Americans facilitated by discriminatory U.S. government laws. It would also atone for the moral debt owed to Black Americans after centuries of plunder and oppression.
In the wake of Americas recent racial reckoning, the United States government has taken several significant steps to confront its legacy of racial hatred, discrimination, and oppression. Some of these measures have been largely symbolic, such as establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday, while others including the drafting of legislation to address police brutality remain more actionable. Yet still, reparations remain a contentious topic in Congress and American society at large, eliciting tensions from both sides of the aisle.
Some legislators, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (whose ancestors owned slaves), argue that since no Americans alive today bear any direct responsibility for slavery, the government cannot justifiably ask taxpayers to fund reparations. However, non-Black Americans have benefited tremendously from the economic advantages granted to them by slavery, even if their ancestors did not own slaves. For example, regression analysis research comparing census data from 1860 and 2014 demonstrates that modern-day White populations in regions that once had high levels of slave ownership are financially better off today as a result of their slave history, even if their ancestors had no direct ties to slave ownership or related industries. Therefore, reparations would aid in leveling the socioeconomic playing field between Black and White Americans. If generational wealth can be inherited, so can generational debt.
As an African American woman living in Southern California, a region well-known for its prevalence of liberal sentiment, I have often been disappointed to witness my own local governmental officials parroting McConnells argument to deflect responsibility for instituting reparations. For instance, when Manhattan Beachs violent history of stealing waterfront property from its Black residents came to light in the summer of 2020, the city refused to even offer an apology. Manhattan Beach City Councilmember Steve Napolitano said in a statement, For those demanding reparations, these are typically considered by levels of government much higher than citiesThe issue of reparations for historic wrongs against any group of people is much bigger than Manhattan Beach, and not the sole responsibility of our current residents. Napolitanos assertion that cities do not generally consider reparations is fallacious, as demonstrated by the reparations policies of major metropolitan areas like Evanston, Illinois, Providence, Rhode Island, and Asheville, North Carolina. Furthermore, although most Americans including Manhattan Beach residents would likely prefer to only pay taxes for issues they solely bear responsibility for, taxation requires that all American citizens finance a broad collection of efforts that often extend far beyond their personal interests.
While many Southern California residents pride themselves on their liberal, forward-thinking attitudes, the topic of reparations has revealed a stark divide between how White progressives portray themselves and the level to which they are actually willing to take action to address the social problems they decry. It is easy to performatively declare that Black lives matter and that racism is bad, but it is seemingly much harder for them to acknowledge that they have personally benefited from racist policies that have disadvantaged Black Americans, and in turn, must take steps to rectify that injustice. Therefore, the root of the local and national dispute regarding reparations does not truly concern whether or not America should pay for the sins of its past, but rather whether or not Americans possess the sufficient courage to assume their obligation to grant Black Americans the restitution they deserve.
As such, its time for White progressives to start bridging the gap between their fervent rhetoric on racial equality and their stagnant inaction on reparations policy implementation in order to reduce racial disparities in generational wealth that still impact Black Americans today. By financing Black reparations, the federal government has the opportunity to diminish the persistent economic disadvantages that African Americans face as a direct result of slavery and subsequent racially discriminatory legislation imposed by the United States government.
White Americans should not regard reparations as a source of guilt, but instead as an opportunity to provide Black Americans with restitution for not only the unparalleled cruelty that their ancestors endured, but also for the continued social, political, and economic restrictions that slavery has brought upon them and their descendants. Without any form of reparations, America will never even begin to truly repay the tremendous debt it owes to its Black citizens for centuries of devastation and exploitation.
Read the original post:
A Debt Owed: The Case for Reparations in the Wake of COVID-19 - Harvard Political Review
- Jackboot - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2016]
- The US Government's Oppression of the Poor, Homeless [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2016]
- The US Government's Oppression of the Poor, Homeless [Last Updated On: June 17th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 17th, 2016]
- Protection, Oppression, and Liberty: How Much Government? [Last Updated On: June 19th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 19th, 2016]
- Oppression How Is it Defined in Women s History? [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2016]
- Liberalism and Conservatism - Regis University [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2016]
- American Patriot Friends Network APFN [Last Updated On: June 27th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 27th, 2016]
- Government news, articles and information: [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2016]
- Opinion: While true oppression exists, hypocrisy of some women is clear - Shelby Township Source Newspapers [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- A Modern Choice on Life - Harvard Political Review [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- FG yet to address our forefathers' fear of oppression NAIG ... - Vanguard [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Understanding Information Oppression in the Era of Trump - MediaFile [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Angolans Bravery Broke Down Chains of Colonial Oppression - Minister - AllAfrica.com [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Centrelink bogus debts: How far can the vulnerable be pushed before they break? - Independent Australia [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Joe's View: Privacy, where next? - Digital Health [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Bill passage would rename Columbus Day, honor Native Americans in Nevada - Las Vegas Review-Journal [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- EFCC is an instrument for political oppression Ozekhome - Naija247news [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Collin Nji: The first African to win Google's CodeIn Challenge - Pulse ... - Pulse Nigeria [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Open Letter to NFL Players Traveling to Israel on a Trip Organized by Netanyahu's Government - The Nation. [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Turkey's HDP Women's Assembly issues feminist call-to-arms against 'one man rule' - Left Foot Forward [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Education Expert: Betsy DeVos Should Address Local Control Before School Choice - Breitbart News [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Student leader says 'black-on-black crime is not a thing,' wants to censor those who say it is - The College Fix [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- LETTER: Evangelical Lutheran Church respond to political cartoon - The Dickinson Press [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Israeli Knesset 'legalizes' robbery of Palestinian land - Liberation [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Organize to defeat Trump's Muslim ban - Fight Back! Newspaper [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Do we have a legitimate government? - Altoona Mirror [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Anti-Trump Swedish Government Accused of Hypocrisy for Kowtowing to Iran - Heat Street [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Israeli government awards the Israel Prize to 96-year-old retired Olympic gymnast and Holocaust survivor gnes Keleti. - Jewish Chronicle [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Russ Boehm: This year, it's tough being a Boulder County Democrat - Longmont Times-Call [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Anti-Castro Cuban-American lawmakers see a champion in Trump - The Ledger [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Sweden's 'Feminist' Government Defends Veiling in Iran After Attacking Trump - Breitbart News [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Do we have a legitimate government? - Williamsport Sun-Gazette [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- U. Mass Students Plot Strike Against 'Oppression' of Migrants - Breitbart News [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- As I See It: The perils facing the Constitution - Corvallis Gazette Times [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Us & Them: Love, the Ayatollah & Revolution - West Virginia Public Broadcasting [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Ethiopian Athlete Who Made Anti-government Gesture in Rio Reunites With Family - Voice of America [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Mottley: Tax clearance certificate an 'instrument of oppression' - Loop Barbados [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Sweden's 'feminist' government criticized for wearing headscarves in Iran - Washington Post [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Christophobia: A Global Perspective - FrontPage Magazine [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Fox News' Todd Starnes Redefines 'The Deplorables' - Forward [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Turkey purge: dark cloud of oppression hangs over country's universities - Times Higher Education (THE) (blog) [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- The New Gambia: What's on and off the aid agenda - Devex [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Christophobia: a Global Perspective - AINA (press release) [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- AzaadiFreedom from Indian Oppression - Economic and Political Weekly [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Iraqi forces advance on Islamic State-held western Mosul - McClatchy Washington Bureau [Last Updated On: February 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 19th, 2017]
- UC San Diego Students Protest Visit by 'Oppressive and Offensive' Dalai Lama - Heat Street [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- We must all stand with Tibet The McGill Daily - The McGill Daily (blog) [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere - Royal Gazette [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- Elders share experiences with oppression from their youth - B.C. Catholic Newspaper [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- In Trump's America, Christian proselytizing is another form of oppression - LGBTQ Nation [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- Amnesty report reveals excessive oppression in Kashmir - Daily Times [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- Grass-roots leaders join call for 'disrupting' oppression that hurts many - Catholic News Service [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Governor Treen brought sunshine to Louisiana governmental conservatism - Bayoubuzz [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- I want an international probe into failed Turkey coup Fethullah Glen - Citifmonline [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- On finding freedom from oppression, fear - Davisclipper [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Lateral Oppression Hurts Us All - The Lakota Country Times [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Disobedience Checks Unjust Laws - The Oberlin Review [Last Updated On: February 25th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 25th, 2017]
- Cycles and Oppression - Patheos (blog) [Last Updated On: February 25th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 25th, 2017]
- Opinion: The Relevance of Orwell's 1984 - Emertainment Monthly (registration) (blog) [Last Updated On: February 25th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 25th, 2017]
- McAuliffe vetoes bill to disclose refugee records - WRIC [Last Updated On: February 26th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 26th, 2017]
- Another Jewish cemetery desecrated; what will the President say? Isn't the government supposed to help? - San Diego Jewish World [Last Updated On: February 26th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 26th, 2017]
- Transport groups hold nationwide transport strike to protest government's PUV modernization program - CNN Philippines [Last Updated On: February 26th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 26th, 2017]
- Monitoring group documents Turkey-backed profiling in Netherlands - Turkey Purge [Last Updated On: February 26th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 26th, 2017]
- The Sin of 'Just Doing Our Job' - Sojourners [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- What should we see in the ashes of the Standing Rock protest camp? - Liberation [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Opinion: Focusing on religious oppression in China misses the big ... - CNN [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Nepalese Student Suskihanna Gurung Portrays Chinese Oppression Through Photography - Study Breaks [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- ISIS Threatens China In New Video Showing Chinese Jihadists - Vocativ [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Focusing on religious oppression in China misses the big picture - Gant Daily [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Donegal Travellers Project welcomes government recognition of Traveller ethnicity - Donegal Now [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- This Is Why The Youth Is Picking Up Arms In Kashmir - Youth Ki Awaaz [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- Saudi Arabia: Music video and government initiatives split society - Freemuse [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- From Latin America to South Africa: it's time for effective solidarity towards Palestine - The Daily Vox (blog) [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Articles: Islam, the Veil, and Oppression - American Thinker - American Thinker [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Focusing on religious oppression in China misses the big picture - CNN [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Public needs to help get government back on track - Fairfield Daily Republic [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- The Permanent Peoples' Tribunal Hearings On Myanmar Crimes Against Rohingya & Kachin - The Chicago Monitor [Last Updated On: March 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 5th, 2017]
- Oppression in the Land of the Free: A Muslim Leader Speaks Out ... - teleSUR English [Last Updated On: March 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 5th, 2017]
- The Readers' Forum: Monday letters - Winston-Salem Journal [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]
- How America Became a Colonial Ruler in Its Own Cities - Vanity Fair [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]