Should the Federal Government Pay Reparations to the Descendants of Slaves?

My topic is should the United States Federal Government pay reparations to decedents of
slaves. This issue matters to me because it is infuriating seeing global white colonialism using
excuses and lies to get away with crimes against humanity for free and without repercussions. In
this paper, I intend to prove that slavery from colonialism in the United States severely damaged
the Black population mentally, physically, and financially, while continuing to profit from it. It is
not just that they should get away with yet another crime against humanity for free and without
repercussions, so as a result, Black Americans who are descendants of slaves in the United
States, should be paid reparations.

The background on this issue is that ever since 1865, Black Americans have brought
forth both judicially and ideologically, that Black people in America should be given
compensation for the labor and atrocities of slavery. However, every time, for at least 160 years
that the issue is brought to the table both during and after slavery, the American government
continues to drag out excuses as to why reparations will not be granted. At one point, some
slaves were given land as reparations, however, the American government, then took most of it
all back and redistributed it among the traitorous white Southerners who were conquered in the
Civil War. Every generation that the issue has been brought forth, even only years after slavery
ended, the goal posts have been moved because the United States government does not want to
pay while still benefiting from the effects of slavery and using time as a weapon to run from
having to pay.

The argument I find most convincing on the pro side is “slavery led to giant disparities in
wealth that should be addressed with reparations.” Butler argues that the poor generational health
effects on Black Americans is the result of the wealth disparities caused by slavery and racism.
The inability of Blacks to gain wealth due to slavery and then subsequently sharecropping, and
being unable to participate in the Homestead Act, resulted in Blacks across the United States to
be forced into extreme poverty while American whites and European migrants during that same
time, were being given land for free and were granted education on how to cultivate it. With
wealth, came the ability to improve their lifestyles which has led white Americans to have better
health and overall lifestyles than Black Americans today.

On the other hand, the argument I found least convincing on the pro side is from
Matthews and other authors regarding other groups having already been compensated. Their
arguments are weak because one of the excuses I have heard from reparations naysayers is that
there are too many Black Americans now to pay them all. It is not Black peoples’ fault that the
US government has dragged resolving this for so long, that the tab has exponentially increased.
However, people are weak-minded, and naysayers will use the excuse of it not being fiscally
possible and others will be easily convinced. Because I feel the “other people got reparations”
argument can be easily counter argued, it is best used to strengthen other arguments and not be a
standalone one.

Comparing and contrasting these two pro arguments, one similarity between slavery
leading to health disparities due to lack of wealth among Black Americans and other groups
having already been compensated is that both are issues are ones Black Americans have long felt
angst for. The anger comes from slavery never having been righted and that the government
prioritizes other groups of people over Black people. If there were reparations, I feel that at least
one wrong would be righted. However, a difference between these two arguments is generational
health deficiencies due to slavery can never be righted because of the systemic racism in our
healthcare system today, while some financial compensations would be gained by granting
reparations.

As far as convincing arguments on the con side, unfortunately, I did not find any because
they are all excuses to keep reneging on reparations. There is nothing that can convince me that it
is morally okay to just ignore and not compensate a group of people, who were specifically
targeted to be kidnapped, trafficked, tortured, raped, and their families torn apart for forced
labor, and enslavement, simply because of their ethnicity. In fact, I found each counterargument
condescending because they are all points that have been parroted by racist and white nationalist
ideologies for years. McConnell tried to excuse not granting reparations because he did not think
people today should have to pay for something that happened 150 years ago. His excuse was that
the Civil War was enough to right the wrong, that civil rights laws were “a gift”, and that
President Barack Obama was “the proof” that all is righted as best they could. All these reasons
are nonsensical lies to deflect the real issue that reparations need to be granted to right the wrong
for slavery. All the red herrings that he tries to pass off as “enough” are just distractions because
the South fought the Civil War for economic reasons to keep slavery, not because the North or
South were feeling sympathetic towards slaves. Many Black people were lynched, burned, and
maimed fighting for their own civil rights, while most of the white population fought tooth and
nail to prevent those laws from being enacted. And President Barack Obama has nothing to do
with any of it.

The argument on the con side I found least convincing was “the idea of reparations is
demeaning to African Americans and would further divide the country along race lines.” I found
this argument least convincing because Hughe’s argument that it would make it harder to create
Black coalitions makes no logical sense. As a Black American, we are already at rock bottom,
and I see no “coalitions” that are helping anything anymore so there is nothing to be lost. The
NAACP, the Congressional Black Caucus, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and previous Black
coalitions are ineffective these days because they have all fallen to liberal rhetoric, have become
too old and too obsessed with their legacies to care, or just simply have no power to change
anything, so they have devolved into just mouthpieces for lip service. As a result, I see no results
of these so-called coalitions on the ground, so there would be nothing lost to reparations.
Comparing and contrasting the two con arguments, a similarity between the two are that
both are fallacies of relevancies that pander to white supremacist tropes and stereotypes.
McConnell’s red herring statement that the election of President Barack Obama evens out the
wrongs of slavery and Hughe’s straw man statement that granting reparations somehow means
that Black coalitions cannot do their work anymore, are both false narratives that have nothing to
do with righting a crime against humanity. A difference between the two arguments is that
McConnell’s tries to rebuke reparations from a political standpoint giving the false impression
that the government has done all it can do as alternatives for reparations, while Hughe’s tries to
discredit it from an appeal to pity stance in that if Black people get reparations, then we can’t
fight for other rights anymore. This argument is false and makes no sense.
Overall, the side of the debate I found most convincing is the pro side because it just
simply makes moral sense. The evidence that stood out was the previous cases for other groups
that got reparations for lesser offenses and the evidence given regarding wealth disparities.
People seem to forget that it was not just the aspect of slavery that was wrong, but the systemic

rape, breakup of families, trauma, torture, and other heinous crimes, that also took place. Yes,
there was forced labor, but there was also systemic debauchery forced on Black people from
white slaveowners as well such as homosexuality and sodomy, which were particularly forced on
Black men. These were all crimes against humanity enacted on Black people. Additionally, other
marginalized groups in America, who may not have experienced rape and torture, received
compensation for their systematic discrimination even if it was posthumously.

My original perspective is that yes, Black Americans should receive reparations. The first
reason is because the United States kidnapped and trafficked a massive portion of the African
population to work for free under torture and duress, against a peoples’ will and this cannot go
without being morally compensated. The second reason that Black people should receive
reparations is because as long as the government keeps ignoring it, it will continue to cause a
fracture between race lines as Black people will feel unvalued in the country. And finally, the
third reason is because the United States continues to profit off slavery and its hypocritic to not
compensate for slavery while many corporate, financial institutions, government infrastructures
and the white population in general, continues to enjoy the fruits of its occurrence.

The social problems I observed in my research is if reparations were to be granted, there
would be debate over its dispersal methods and amounts. I do not know an amount that should be
given, but it should be granted only to Black Americans who are descendants of slaves prior to
1866 and not Africans, Caribbean people, or other Black populations who immigrated here after
since their descendants did not experience slavery. Financial writer Arends made the con
argument that “Then there is the trouble of determining who is a descendant of enslaved people.
Barack Obama, though African American, does not have Black American ancestry because his
father was Kenyan, and his American mother was white.” It is not hard to figure out who is a
descendant of enslaved people. Most if not all Black people know how long their family has

been in the United States. It is unheard of for someone who does not know if their family
immigrated here or not. Additionally, there are modern resources like Ancestry.com that are
efficient at tracing a Black American’s family tree despite the fracture of our lineages due to
chattel slavery. Slavery was not that long ago, so we do not even have to look that far. And to
answer Arend’s question, no Barack Obama would not be eligible because his family did not
experience slavery. Another problem I see coming from reparations is jealousy, bad actors and
those with multiracial ancestors seeking to take advantage of the situation. Identifying how far
one’s Black ancestry goes back to qualify would cause a problem. There are going to be those
white people who will try to claim their Black grandmother (who was likely raped by their own
great, great, great, grandfather) 3 and 4 generations down the line to claim reparations. This was
the same outcome that occurred when Native Americans were granted reparations in the form of
land through the Dawes Rolls and white Americans stood in line to lie so they could take
advantage of the Natives’ reparations for themselves. These white people were called $5 Dollar
Indians because they paid $5 to have their names falsified as being Native Americans. I can
anticipate “$5 Blacks” consisting of white people calling themselves “Black” if reparations were
granted. As far as multiracial people, it is more complex, and I think partial compensation would
be the only solution in their cases.

What I know about the situation is that people think it will be problematic to find out
exactly who should receive reparations. The results I am aiming for is that the enslaved
descendants of Black Americans can be easily found through census, birth, marriage, and death
records. In this way, they will benefit from being able to identify as having ancestors who were
slaves. There are multiple resources that can be used to solve this problem which can be found
via Ancestry.com and the Bureau of Vital Statistics. Slavery was not that long ago so it is not as
if all is lost. While specific records for slavery may not exist, most ancestors can be found with
some thorough research. Additionally, some states are not waiting on the government and have
preemptively taken reparations into their own hands by working with insurance companies to
produce their own system of tracing descendants back to their enslaved ancestors and offering
compensation. At the state level, some states like New York, are currently researching slavery in
their own localities, and working with insurance companies to provide some form of reparations.
There are also private organizations who are looking at their historical participation in slavery
and producing their own means to atone for it. This is in the right direction; however, the US
government also had a huge part to play in it and should not be absolved of their part of
responsibility.

Alternatives to reparations can be guaranteed jobs through vocational schooling. Many
problems in the Black community resulting from slavery are lack of work. Black men are mostly
blue-collar skilled workers like construction, laborers, etc. However, most vocational schools
across the country were closed in the 80s due to neglect and funding. Another alternative is
homeownership and land grants. After slavery, Blacks were excluded from land and
homeownership subsidies given by the US government, while white Americans could
participate. With homeownership and land grants, Blacks would be able to take advantage of the
benefits and wealth of investing in homes and land.

Advantages of the first alternative would be Black men would be able to find wholesome
work and could take control of their livelihoods. More Black teens would be able to start gaining
trade skills in high school, rather than getting involved with the drama out in the streets.
Additionally, I believe this may lower the crime rates because it is lack of blue-collar work that
contributes to the problems in poor Black communities. However, disadvantages of this would
be lack of funding and interest. Vocational schools were closed systematically in the 80s and 90s
due to the federal government being upset that American schools were behind academically
compared to the rest of the world. To counter this, the federal government stopped funding them
to invest in academic curricula instead. As a result, local governments could not single-handedly
afford them, so they eventually ended up closing vocational schools across the United States.
This negatively affected Black communities who were dependent on these vocational schools for
trade skills and a way of life. No longer could Black teens learn working skills and head to jobs
like culinary arts, engineering, plumbing, construction, or cosmetology right out of high school.
The only option for them was to linger on the streets or work menial jobs as college was
financially unobtainable as well. This unfortunately is where the Black people have been stuck
today, hence the importance of Affirmation Action, which is a whole other topic. The
government’s lack of interest in funding vocational schools again would hinder the process of
bringing them back, even as a form of reparations. In hindsight, closing vocational schools was
all for nothing anyway because the United States is even further behind academically globally,
so closing them did not even achieve the outcome the government was looking for. That said,
advantages of the second alternative to grant home and land subsidies as reparations would be
Black Americans could earn back more than what monetary reparations would provide through
equity of owning homes and land. This in turn would help Black American communities thrive
and may even remove law enforcement as an occupying force from neighborhoods. This in turn
would also help the national and local economies. However, a perceived disadvantage to this
would be that this would need to also need to include programs to include real estate and
financial literacy to maintain the home because it would not be logical to just hand people homes
with no knowledge of how to keep it. While this would be beneficial to Black Americans, the
naysayers will waste no time gathering forces to shoot it down from being “too expensive”
without also considering the benefits to the country.

Evaluating and comparing the outcomes of both alternatives, home and land ownership
would have to go together with the return of vocational schools because having a job will be
necessary to pay for the responsibilities of maintaining a home. However, the ultimate outcome
of having both alternatives would outweigh not having them at all, as I anticipate they would
result in lower crime rates, higher home ownership rates, higher education rates, more Blackowned
businesses, and less impoverished Black neighborhoods because people will be working
and will want to lose their home. So, I would pursue both alternatives since they must be
combined for them to work; one cannot exist without the other. An action I could take on home
and land ownership and vocation schools as reparations would be to support existing local
activists and politicians who are already lobbying for reparations and similar solutions. Another
method is to contact my Congressmen and Senators to express my interest in these alternatives,
however, I would also likely need a politician of people who also support it, so I would have to
also lobby other individuals and organizations to support my cause.

My evaluation of the situation is that the best form of reparations for Black Americans
should not be a single monetary one but entail home and land ownership subsidies in conjunction
with vocational school education and financial and real estate literacy programs which they can
invest in for generations to come. While this might seem like a lot of adjustments, it still pales in
comparison to the scale and longevity of federal support white Americans received in the 125
years of the Homestead Act of 1862 which only recently ended in 1986. The process will be a
multi-fold one because it would resolve the high unemployment rate of Black Americans as well
as increase home ownership and decrease the problem of poverty and crime. So, I will know I
will have achieved the desired results once the unemployment rate among Black Americans has
decreased from over 6% to below 3%, home ownership among Black American increases from
44% to over 60% and when there is a significant reduction in crime and poverty in Black neighborhoods as well. The problems in poor Black communities are multifaceted, and have met
roadblocks before that stagnate its momentum, so if there is continued support for reparations,
then the desired results can be reached in 10 to 15 years, or at least 20 at most. If by chance the
desired results are not achieved within that time limit, an adjustment that can be made is to form
a private Black organization outside of the government to determine what is causing the delay
and quickly resolve the issue. So, for example, if the problem is some Black Americans are
having trouble maintaining jobs to pay for the homes, then a job program can be organized to get
them back to work or forgive some payments until they are able to catch up. And if the problem
is due to crime and/or drugs being a problem in their neighborhoods, then institutions such as
rehabilitation clinics should be moved out of those neighborhoods and criminals should be
arrested and put into correction programs, so they do not further hinder the upward movement of
the neighborhood. These solutions can be modified by the program being managed by all Black
coalitions that are familiar with the disadvantages of poor Black neighborhoods who will
monitor its progress and quickly address potential problems that would arise.

In conclusion, although reparations seem like a daunting endeavor, I feel like it can be
easily resolved with robust support and efficient planning. The fact that the United States
government has left the Black community to rot at every turn, and just granting patchwork
handouts and expecting them to magically work, it is a wonder that Black Americans are not
worse off than they are already. Funding should not be an excuse to not support reparations.
After all, the federal government has given far more in aid to foreign countries such as $175
billion to Ukraine and $300 billion to Israel which will have zero effect on improving the lives of
Americans, so the government could find funding if they really wanted to. So, rather than
burning money by spending it on other interests that will not improve the life of Americans, it
makes more sense to invest in citizens right here on domestic soil rather than reaching across the
pond to people who have no obligation or personal stake in the condition of the United States or
the American people. So, yes, the federal government should pay reparations to the descendants
of slaves. Reparations should be used as an opportunity to improve the country’s infrastructure
because investing in the welfare of Black Americans is investing in the future of America. It will
not only boost the American economy as well as bring a better quality of life to all Americans,
but it will also help the country start healing from the negative effects of slavery by releasing the
anchor of the slave ships that’s holding this country down, so we can start to move forward from
it.