The Pros And Cons Of Reparation Of African Americans

More than one hundred years have passed since slavery ended, fifty-five years since the repeal of Jim Crow laws. Historical Civil Rights leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X have given birth to a new generation of racial equality activists such as Colin Kaepernick, Michelle Alexander, and Barack Obama. New leaders in the 21st century say that reparations, or “the making of amends for a wrong one has done by paying money to or otherwise helping those who have been wronged,” as defined by Webster's Dictionary, are necessary because African American citizens are still affected by the unjustifiable treatment of black people during the 1800’s. Slavery’s drastic toll on the black community encourages social justice groups
The author mentions that the U.N. panel expressed that, “reparations can be ‘a formal apology, health initiatives, educational opportunities ... psychological rehabilitation, technology transfer and financial support, and debt cancellation.” These alternate methods of “paying back” the black community is used to appease those who oppose the government handing out money to people. Some may argue that the U.S. government paying back people for their suffering caused by them is nothing new for example ThoughtCo writer points out that, “The U.S. has also given reparations, specifically to the Japanese-Americans forced into internment camps during World War II. The U.S. government later apologized and gave $20,000 to the people who had been interned.” In the case of the Japanese Internment camps, the government put a price on what their suffering was worth. Why then, shouldn’t African Americans be paid their dues as well? Another argument for the use of reparations is made by Ta-Nehisi Coates, a journalist for the Atlantic Magazine and a supporter of reparations, who argues, “that reparations are needed because, after the Civil War, African-Americans endured a second slavery. This was due to practices like debt peonage, a system where somebody is forced to work to pay off a debt. It was also due to Jim Crow laws, which enforced racial segregation in the southern states.” The poignant topic of the Jim Crow laws is often ignored when people who are against reparations say that, “... black former slaves are not alive anymore”. The racism endured by African Americans during the days of Jim Crow is still remembered by people who have lived long enough to see the segregation laws