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TITLE: Resolutions on Black Reparations |
AUTHOR: |
DATE: January 25, 2001 |
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Whereas, People of African Descent in the US have a just claim to compensation because of both historical and present-day violations of human rights, the right to self-determination, imposed citizenship and property rights; and... Whereas, The vast majority of the United States and corporate wealth was created by enslaved labor; and... Whereas, The United States government and many of its corporations maintain their wealth today, in large part, through the continued exploitation of Black labor by practices of job and wage discrimination; and... Whereas, The United States government and some of its corporations also uphold their wealth through the maintenance of its large pool of millions of surplus labor; and... Whereas, The issue of Black Reparations must also be seen in the context of the global issues as they affect the African continent, the Caribbean, Central and South America, due to the kidnapping and robbing of Africa's human and natural resources as well as the ruthless colonization of Africa and the Diaspora; and... Whereas, Reparations has been raised by Black People since the 19th Century and throughout the 20th Century as a legal, legitimate and moral demand; and... Whereas, The United States government supports the just compensation of the Jewish People for the genocidal acts of the German state, and compensation they gave the Japanese Americans who were, during World War II, unjustly held captive in concentration camps throughout the US.... Therefore, Be It Resolved __________________________________________________ officially supports the Black Radical Congress's Reparations Campaign and... Be It Further Resolved that ________________________________________ will work with the Black Radical Congress to determine how best our organization can carry out the objectives of this campaign. Resolution Presented and Affirmed Name_______________________ Title_____________________ Organization_______________________________ Date__________________________ ################################# Commonly Asked Questions About...Black Reparations R E P A R A T I O N S Defined: The making of amends for wrong or injury.... Compensation in money, material, labor, etc. payable... to an individual for damages or loss suffered during or as a result of WAR. (From the Random House Dictionary of the English Language-1966) Question: Is the Demand for Black Reparations Valid? Yes! We have been wronged and injured for the past 500+ years! The European Slave Trade was not a "trade" but a war for unpaid labor and human capital waged against our African ancestors. This 400-year war resulted in social and economic devastation with millions of African people killed or held as captives. And in the past 100+ years of life after emancipation, Black people have been wronged and injured by white supremacy and segregation in every aspect of life in the US. Q. Is Black Reparations Just for Past Grievances? No! The economic, social, psychological and spiritual health of the African American is in worse condition today than ever before! There is more segregation, more unemployment and underemployment, more imprisoned Black folk, we have poorer health and education, more racial violence and police terror than 25 years ago. All of this is the result of the continual abuse of power by white supremacists and institutionalized racism that evolved out of the legacy of slavery and Black Reconstruction-crushing Jim Crow laws. Q. Before Which Bodies would the Black Reparations Demands be Raised?? The Black Reparations Demands would be presented to the US Government, the United Nations, The World Court as well as numerous corporations, families, banks and insurance companies who owe their existence and wealth because of their extracting centuries of unpaid African labor and continual racist job discrimination. Q. Is Reparations Just Confined to Black People in the US? No! For many years, Brothers & Sisters throughout the Americas, Europe and Africa have been organizing around and demanding reparations! The enslavement of African peoples was a global thing. And wherever we are, we are in motion... demanding reparations from the French, Portuguese, Swedish, Germans, Italians, British, Dutch and the Spanish governments and corporations who have amassed tremendous wealth and power out of the capturing and exploitation of tens of millions of Africans. Q. What Form or Forms would Reparations Take? Compensation (payback) will have many forms. It can take on a collective payback form with a central banking system that focuses on collective community economic development. It can also be in a form where African Americans pay no taxes of any kind- just like people of Native American descent do today. Or it can include free medical care and free education from Kindergarten through graduate school at any public or private school. Reparations may be realized also in the form of individual payment- either a lump sum amount or monthly payments over a lifetime. There are other forms in which Black reparations can be realized... these are just a few examples. Reparations on the international scale will have its own set of ways of being realized. The mechanisms for working this out will be determined by the masses of Black folk at a series of peoples' national conventions on reparations implementation. Q. Who Would Pay Us? Reparations would come from the United States Government, other European governments, families, and corporations that have benefited not only from African unpaid labor but also post-emancipation racial discrimination. Q. Can the United States Government Afford to Pay Us? Yes! By reallocating hundreds of billions of dollars from the bloated military budget and corporate welfare, there would be enough money to begin the reparations compensation process. Also, by closing the tax loopholes for the rich and their giant corporations and vigorously collecting the taxes, there would be an additional tens of billions of dollars available. Q. Who Else has been Raising the Demand for Black Reparations? Hundreds of thousands of people of African descent all over South and Central America, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa have been organizing for the past 30 years various conferences, studies and actions demanding not only the cancellation of national debts but reparations for the rape, plunder and ruthless exploitation of their respective nations and peoples. There's the Jubilee 2000 group (South Africa and throughout the Diaspora); The African Reparations Movement in England; The Black Consciousness Movements in Canada, Brazil, Peru, Columbia, Venezuela, Panama, Surinam, Nicaragua, Belize and Honduras. Throughout the Caribbean there are reparations groups working within the frameworks of regional organizations or linked to Jubilee 2000 or the 50 Years Is Enough Campaign. Q. Will We Ever Get Reparations? Yes! It is through consistent, organized struggle and resistance against what seemed to be impossible odds that our ancestors freed themselves from slavery. That same consistent, organized struggle and resistance spirit of our ancestors- taken to a higher more sophisticated level- will insure us that Black Reparations will be realized for our children. Remember Brother Frederick Douglass' powerful words: "Power Concedes nothing without a Demand. It never did, and it never will!" Q. How Can I Join in this Reparations Movement? You can work with us-The Black Radical Congress-in helping to build the Mass Movement to Demand Black Reparations. Feel free to call us at 212.242.4201. Mail us at NY Metro BRC, 122 W. 27th St., NYC 10001. Or email at ebontek@earthlink.net END |