Reparations

6 Pages 1400 Words

“The case for Reparations”, by Charles J. Ogletree, is a piece that attempts to persuade the reader to agree with the idea of reparations. Reparations are designed to “repair” the damages that have been caused, in this case to African-Americans. It is stated that when slavery was abolished, there was never an apology. Another point is the government did give some land to blacks after they were freed, but immediately took this land away. There is also the idea that this country was built on slavery, and there are millions of black Americans who are still affected by this. In this article, the solution is to set up a trust fund for certain people to bring claims. These points give us something to think about, but aren’t entirely true. These reparations have nothing to do with the present situation of many blacks. Also, there have been many groups persecuted throughout the history of this country. A trust fund would do very little, and there are many questions that must be asked if this is the suggested idea. This article is written in an attempt to educate people on reparations, but there are some flaws throughout that make it difficult to agree.
The author is obviously an avid supporter for the case of reparations. In this article, he cites many examples to prove his case for the “repairs” that should be done. The main issue is slavery and how the government has not given any apologies in 139 years since it has been abolished. The case for reparations is not all that recent. As far back as 1988, the government has settled claims with Japanese-Americans as well as almost 20,000 black farmers for their sufferings in the past. The idea of reparations has become a growing concern for government officials. One major injustice discussed is the hope for “forty acres and a mule”. Apparently, this was promised and given out to many blacks only to be stripped away shortly thereafter. Therefore, many of these peop...