Should African Americans receive reparations for their ancestors being slaves over four hundred years ago????

Question

and if so just how mush should each man, women and child get???

Answer 1

It's horrible that slavery existed, but no, I don't think they should get reparations. It's been so, so long now. There were African slaves in Africa before there were African slaves in America... the Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians had slaves... even today, there are several million slaves (mostly women and children) worldwide (yes, even in America--about 20,000 of them here).

If the African Americans get reparations, so should everyone else.

I think people should focus their energy more on doing away with modern day human trafficking rather than trying to get money from stuff that happened long before their grandparents were born.

Answer 2

Even though I'm african american by gov't standards, I think they shouldn't get reparations. How would they be able to trace that much genetic history. But since i'm also Native american After the Trail of Tears shouldn't Native americans own the Whole united states, They were just pushed and pushed into the west until Americans tossed them onto reservations. Also they were killed off. Slaves existed everywhere. Blacks weren't the only slaves. They were just the most famous ones. Plus reparations are for people whose grandparents, parents or themselves were involved in slavery. Most people don't care much about how they're great-great-great-great grandparents were slaves and the pain they went through.

Answer 3

Before asking stupid questions, you really should get your facts in order. The US Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865, so it ended 141 years ago and the slaves were freed at the end of the war. So technically, your question should read: "Should African Americans receive reparations for their ancestors having been slaves over 140 years ago? If so, how much should each person receive?"

Your question points to the fact that you are probably a black person looking for another undeserved hand-out from the government, even without seeing a picture/avatar of you. Moving forward ... the answer to your question is "No". The reason being is the fact that the black man (women and children, too) are last in line for reparations from our government.

The "Native American" people made treaty after treaty with the government, and time after time the government broke the treaties. After generations of being lied to by the "White Eyes", the Native Americans revolted and fought against the government. The government's answer to the Native American revolts was to take away their freedoms and their lands, and to lock them on reservations where their languages, their religion and their customs were outlawed. Native American children were stolen from their parents and sent to "Missionary Schools" to teach them how to be "White". Generations of Native American children grew up without knowing their own culture, and many of the Native American langauges have died as a result of our governments' treachery. So in answer to your question, if our government is going to start handing out payments for one hundred or two hundred year old "debts" ... the Native Americans come first and the African Americans come last. And, yes, I am of Native American descent and proud of it.

Answer 4

Should Native American's receive reparations for being uprooted from their lands and contained on reservations?

Should Irish immigrants be repaid for their treatment in sweatshops and their living conditions in large cities such as New York in the 1800's?

Should Jewish people be compensated for the holocaust and for any descrimination that they felt as a result of war sympathizers and those who disagree with their religion?

Should Americans of Japanese descent be paid for the time when many were contained in american POW camps during WWII?

Historically, discrimination, right or wrong happens.

Entire races have been erradicated or absorbed as a result of it. It has been the custom of some conquering races to take those who lost the battle into their homes, and marry or intermingle with them until the traits of those conquered disappeared.

If that would have been the practice 400 years ago in this country, your question would be moot. There wouldn't be a defined black or ***** race to note in the country now.

The first generation offspring of a black and white couple would have been mulatto, next generation of mulatto & white offspring were octoroon and the next generation of octoroon & white offspring were quadroon, and the next generation of quadroon & white offspring were quinteroon. Quinteroons having black traits being extremely rare.

There comes a point in history when enough is enough.

Lifespans, technology and good recordkeeping has made is such that we can, with research, find out where we came from. If one wants payment for treatment for a slave ancestor another will want payment for an Irish one or Indian one.

In my case, I descend from Native American Indian, Irish and German descent. And, while I'm proud to be grounded in the knowledge of where I came from, it's only a meaningful as a measurement of how far I've come and how bountiful the life I now have is.

Answer 5

Not for the slavery part, although that was not four hundred years ago, more like 150.

But for the past 150 years of institutionalized racism, state sanctioned murders and police-tolerated lynchings, mob violence (including the theft of a few square miles of South Tulsa in 1919, during which Black residents were bombed from the air) - absolutely.

The reparations should be in the form of a college fund for the decendants.

Answer 6

I know for a fact that my ancestors were slave owners. I don't condone or shy away from the fact that it was a horrible, awful thing that they did. Imagine, thinking you could own another person? But the thing of it is, that I didn't know ANY of these people and they have been long dead for over a century. I feel no need to pay for their mistakes, just as the descendant of a slave should feel no right to gain for THEIR suffering.

Answer 7

If your great-grandfather stole a million bucks and spent it before he died, should you now be responsible to pay it back to the ancestors of those he stole it from? NO!

How far should we go back for "reparations"? 3 generations? 5? 10? 50? every race were slaves at one point or another.

My family moved here long after the slavery issue and I should not have to pay for what my family had no part of.

Answer 8

Well why shouldn't everybody who has been persecuted throughout history get some sort of compensation? What about Christians (to name only one group).....we had ancestors who were kept as slaves, tortured, and even thrown to the lions. Since the world was new, there have been centuries worth of slavery involving many different cultures, not just people from Africa.

Besides, who would you look to to furnish those "payments"? NO....the people it happened to, AND the people who were responsible for it are long since dead. All we can do is learn from the mistakes of our ancestors and vow never to repeat them.

Answer 9

Only if Native Americans get reparations for the land Europeans took from them, aka USA.

Answer 10

I spoke with a black co-worker, and he stated that he thought it was a bunch of B/S. It is only a means of getting race and class warfare into the headlines.

He agreed with me, that the sacrifices of dead and gone generation are exactly that...dead and gone.

For those that would say, "they owe us", show me the labor that you performed for the money that you are claiming...
Also, If you "take" the money, does that not mean that you have to leave the U.S.?
For the black community that feels this way, I say "get over it" and go get your three less than minimum wage jobs that the republicans say are there for you, and enjoy your civil rights that are still available to you, (but not for long under the "Patriot Act")