Furthermore, those who issued the Japanese
American reparations did not argue. Many whites
argue today that “I was not there when your ancestors
were put into camps” or “It’s not my fault, unlike.
So why does the American government owe
modem blacks for the institution of slavery? It is evi
dent that there are no slaves alive today. However,
today’s African Americans are still suffering from the
lack of opportunity blacks had during and after slavery.
Nepotism is meaningless when your great-great grand
pa was a sharecropper. Blacks then had few friends in
high places, and thus the same is generally true today.
This makes it hard when black applicants are in search
for a good letter of recommendation. As for the white
student who is still wondering why great-grandpa was
so rich, maybe he or she should consider how many
slaves great-grandpa owned.
But even after all of this is made clear, many
whites will argue that America has done enough to
make up for what was done to blacks. Look at the
Civil Rights Movement!” or “Hell, we gave you peo
ple the right to vote until the 21st century. But 1998
UNC alumnus K. Nicole Stringer asks, “How did
urban renewal turn in to ghettolization? Under the
blanket of helping the poor, this country has strategi
cally fooled blacks and Latinos into moving to the
financial paradise of government housing while
preparing prisons for the young who searched for a bet
ter life on the streets. So apparently, what the U.S.
government has done so far has been detrimental to
blacks.
So what is it that blacks want from this coun
try? ‘Everything!” Stringer shouts. ‘Why do we have
to pay to go to a school that our great grandparents
built,” she said. Who could disagree? Surely, if
Chancellor Michael Hooker’s granddaughter wanted to
attend the university, she could receive an all-expense
paid education.
But how likely is it that white Amenca can
afford to give blacks reparations? Most of the money
available for reparation is locked up in Defense spend
ing. Even if the cash were found, it would shortly be
returned to the hands of whites, as they tend to own
most of everything. So what do blacks do in an effort
to get what they deserve? Brandon Lofton, a sopho
more political science major, commanded in a recent
paper for his African American Political Thought class
that “African Americans should denounce government
indifference and demand reparations for the atrocities
suffered as well as the economic gains of the institution
of slavery.” Overlooking the formalities of denounce
ment, Black Americans should get educated on what
they are owed, and insist on receiving governmental
restitution. Furthermore, blacks should search for
more institutionalized means of requesting reparation.
Why does affirmative action come to mind? affirma
tive action fights the systematic oppression of blacks in
the job field and in education.
Lastly, it is imperative for Blacks to understand
that the war is no longer being fought with guns. This
revolution is of a different form. George Clinton said
it best when he remarked, “Who needs a bullet when
you got the ballot?” Keep in mind that prisoners and
former prisoners are no longer eligible to vote. Blacks
cannot ask for reparations anymore. Reparations must
be taken! If blacks continue to sleep on this issue,
reparations will never be had. In the words of Brandon
Lofton, “It is a justice unserved. It is a debt unpaid.”
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