Should any American that is a decendent of Africa get money because of slavery.?

Answer 1

My kind was slaves to the Romans 2000 years ago, where's mine.

Answer 2

I hear this question all the time and I'm not sure how it would work. Chances are it wouldn't. Looking at me (My avatar's pretty close), it's obvious some of my decendants were slaves. But there are caucasians, hispanics, countless others that could make the same claim, whether or not they know it. Slavery was a long time ago. An african american could have passed through anybody's family tree with plenty of time for the physical evidence to fade away. Offering money for it would certainly have people looking for him/her, so they could cash in. But what would be the point of that? It seems to me, it would be exploiting those people (slaves) all over again. Nothing really noble or redeeming about it, I think.

Furthermore, how do you know exactly when somebody's ancestors were really North American slaves. What about the people who have just come over from Africa (or are only 1 or two generations in)?

So, in short, my answer is Reparations (that's what it's called) is probably a bad idea. Not really a popular answer for a black man (would get me accused of 'tomming' in some circles). But here's why:

1) There's no way to responsibly manage it (who says how much you get (can you be "blacker" than somebody else and get more money), who pays for it and how much, who's gonna hold the strings on a huge purse.
2) Money's involved so the system would undoubtedly be corrupted...
3) It would probably only serve to create further racial divide (especially in this economy)

FYI - The "just get over it" approach. That's pretty stupid. Nobody ever just gets over it. And only an idiot or jerk would suggest that they do. Do you say get over the holocaust, or the slaughter of native americans, or apartheid? Of course not. Slavery was a pretty harsh and humiliating thing but you also have to consider it was followed by years and years of horrid treatment (my parents have personal horror stories and even I have a tale or two). Really brief history: After about 250 years, slavery was "formally" abolished in the 1860s. Protesters were getting hosed down and fed to dogs in the 1960s. Martin Luther King didn't just say "I have a dream" and *poof* we're all holding hands and feeling the warm fuzzies. Actions of people like him, Malcolm X, etc: they helped but they weren't the cure. The prejudice lingers to this day, I promise you. Fortunately, people are a lot more civilized and bigotry isn't taught in as many homes and schools and a lot more people believe in equality.

In most circles, obvious, blatant, cross-burning, "white-power" screaming prejudice is as popular as skin cancer. That, at least, is a step in the right direction.

Answer 3

no
1. not all blacks in america (even ones that had been here for a while) were the decendents of slaves
2. slavery, while horrible, was different across blacks and isn't the problem. It's the racism that happened after slavery (jim crow, etc) that caused most of the problems we see today
3. it would be an easy payoff to a difficult solution. again, see #2

Answer 4

Not for something that happened centuries ago, no. The african american population of today didn't experience the times of slavery, why should *they* be compensated now? What about the decendents of the Jewish communities whose families were sent to concentration camps, or wose- incinerated, just for the mere fact that they were Jewish? What about the P.O.W's of our past wars, maybe their decenents should be compentsated for the pain and suffering of the P.O.W.'s? How about the Indian decendants whose ancestors were raped of their land and their livelihoods by the White man when they decided to take control of the America's?

Answer 5

Hail and Greetings

I'm of West African/Celtic/Indian heritage and I dont think I should get money for what happened 100's of years ago. People need to move on and look to the future. I wish people would stop playing the victim card and enpower themselves. The people living today had nothing to do with slavery in America. Why should I get money when I am NOBODY's slave?

Answer 6

if money could mend all the insane and inhuman things that whites did to Africans during the years of slavery, why not? The point is, would that be enough? Enough for all those years of persecution and discrimination, for all the generations that suffered, for all those who were killed or had to live according to those shameful racial laws, for all those who still nowadays in US, the country of liberty and democracy, get beaten up just because of their skin color? I think it needs much more than just money to get over discrimination, slavery may be over, but discrimination is still there.

Answer 7

You know how much money that would cost us. Now a days there is no more slavery. we should not have to pay them for what we did not even have anything to do with.

Answer 8

What for? That was our ancestors. Anyhow do yu think that the Jews should get back all of their precious belongings and sue the Third Reich (or the German people) for what they did? You can't sue the German people because it wasn't everyone in Germany. Who are the African people going to sue? Dead people?

Answer 9

No. First of all, they themselves were not slaves. Second, I and my ancestors had nothing to do with slavery and should not have our money used.

Answer 10

Americans invented the idea that blacks are people too and should live side by side with others as free men and not slaves.

Prior to that, everyone in the world considered them not human....and treated them that way.