THREAD: On Reparations

There seem to be two main aspects to the conversation on reparations IDEOLOGY and ADMINISTRATION:
1. Is this idea just and/or Biblical?
2a. If yes to #1, who should receive them and how much?
2b. If yes to #1, who should pay for them and how much?

1/23

A good argument can be made from pure logic as @scott_m_coley has enumerated here:

https://twitter.com/scott_m_coley/status/1141082275955793920

2/23

There are dozens of verses in the Bible about making restitution for wrongs, here are a few exemplars:
Ex 21:3-4
Ex 22:2-15
Lev 5:4-16
Lev 6:1-6
Lev 24:17-21
Num 5:6-7
2 Sam 12:5-6
Prov 6:31
Luke 19:8-9

3/23

Everyone should be able to agree at least to the following:
1. Every person sold into chattel slavery was profoundly defrauded
2. Those persons were never remotely made whole restitution wise

As @scott_m_coley has made a case above:
3. The debt is ongoing remains unpaid

4/23

Between the argument from logic and the weight of Scripture on making restitution, one must admit that the conversation regarding reparations is one that is valid and at least worth having.

5/23

It is usually at this point where people give up and throw up their hands and say, "well, I don't know how we would go about doing that."

Administration of something of this sort is admittedly quite complicated and loaded with extremely strong opinions all the way around.

6/23

Who should receive reparations and how much?

An argument can be made that people who have been defrauded should receive reparations and they should receive something approaching an inflation adjusted figure relative to what they had been defrauded.

7/23

There are a number of different ways you could estimate the cost of the defrauding:
1. The GDP of all those in chattel slavery
2. The value of the 40 acres and a mule that the U.S. government promised but freed slaves never received

8/23

The inflation adjusted figures for these things vary widely but are both quite significant, especially for #1.

You can google the various economic studies for yourself.

9/23

A case can also be made that there was significant defrauding of black persons in America after Emancipation/Juneteenth:
1. Jim Crow
2. Convict Leasing
3. Sharecropping
4. Convict Leasing
5. Red Lining
6. Sundown laws/towns
7. G.I. Bill disparities...

10/23

A good administration of reparations would at least have a 2nd tier to account for black persons who did not have a heritage of chattel slavery but were defrauded under these other systems.

The economic impact of these should then be compared to that of chattel slavery.

11/23

Perhaps the most controversial question of administration is WHO should pay for reparations.

I can appreciate the recoiling of many who argue that their ancestors had no part in chattel slavery. I am genuinely empathetic.

That being said...

12/23

An argument can be made that anyone who benefited from the system of defrauding has some measure of culpability even if they consciously found the system itself to be morally reprehensible.

An important question here is, "who all has benefited from these systems?"

13/23

While I think a case can be made that everyone who has benefited from either chattel slavery, Jim Crow, or other matters continuing to this day...

14/23

I want to suggest a bi-partisan compromise that might satisfy 70+% of those on both sides of the conversation.

Tax incentivized voluntary contributions for both individuals and corporations.

15/23

The government would administer a trust fund and collect tax incentivized contributions from anyone who felt that reparations were a just matter needing restitution.

16/23

That trust fund could be disseminated in a few different ways:

1. Funds could be given directly to people with familial ties to chattel slavery and then a lesser proportional sum to those who came after 1865

17/23

2. Funds could be given to institutions/charities/ministries in black communities that administer the aid in specialized ways in their specific communities.

Black persons in these communities could be given a voice to vote on which entities should receive funds.

18/23

3. One could employ a combination of options 1 and 2 to support both individuals and the institutions of various black communities.

19/23

Some will think this is not enough.
Some will think this is unjust.
Some will think that the debt has already been paid.
Some will not even listen or engage the argument and conversation.
Some will label me for even validating the conversation.

I hear you all.

20/23

If you don't think it is enough - I understand and I feel your plight.
If you think it is unjust - Please read your history on chattel slavery & Jim Crow
If you think the debt has been paid - Ask the question, "does the Bible support your claim?"

21/23

If you won't listen or engage in the argument - Ask yourself, "why am I so bothered by this conversation and what does that say about me?"

If you want to label me for validating the conversation - Ask yourself, "do you know me?"

22/23

When I was a kid my mother used to say:

"It is never too late to do the right thing."

Thank you for at least giving me a reading.

23/23

#reparations

@ThabitiAnyabwil
@KyleJamesHoward
@dukekwondc
@Eugene_Scott
@JemarTisby
@Burns23
@drantbradley
@AlsoACarpenter
@theochick
@danieleleven32
@AlanLCross
@TheAlanNoble

Addendum 1:

I’ve thought about this some more since writing this.

You could:

1. Distribute the annual federal funds donated to each state proportional to their black population.

2. Each state could have a bipartisan committee that receives grant applications

Addendum 2:

3. Grants that benefitted black persons, organizations, or communities would be evaluated by that bipartisan committee

4. Hopefully the more excellent, needy, and value added initiatives would receive funding

Addendum 3:

This effort would hopefully surface the best and most impactful localized work that would hopefully bring more structural assistance through non-profits and other non-governmental entities.

Addendum 4:

It would force Fortune 500 that say they support justice to actually back it up with real world dollars.

Hopefully over years and decades, disinherited communities might see some human flourishing return.

It is all done voluntarily.

It isn’t enough... but WHY NOT?