Should African Americans be given repirations for slavery and discrimination?

amen!

Imagine that! Americans making promises they have no intention of keeping...I think if the government really had given men their land and mule, they would have made a better life for themselves. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/40_acres_and_a_mule 40 acres and a mule is the colloquial term for compensation that was to be awarded to freed American slaves after the Civil War— 40 acres (16 ha) of land to farm, and a mule with which to drag a plow so the land could be cultivated. The award—a land grant of a quarter of a quarter section (a common homestead size of the time) deeded to heads of households presumably formerly owned by land-holding whites—was the product of Special Field Orders, No. 15, issued January 16, 1865 by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, which applied to black families who lived near the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Sherman's orders specifically allocated "the islands from Charleston, south, the abandoned rice fields along the rivers for thirty miles back from the sea, and the country bordering the St. Johns river, Florida." There was no mention of mules in Sherman's order, although the Army may have distributed them anyway. After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, his successor, Andrew Johnson, revoked Sherman's Orders. It is sometimes mistakenly claimed that Johnson also vetoed the enactment of the policy as a federal statute (introduced as U.S. Senate Bill 60). In fact, the Freedmen's Bureau Bill which he vetoed made no mention of grants of land or mules. (Another version of the Freedmen's bill, also without the land grants, was later passed after Johnson's second veto was overridden.) By June of 1865, around 40,000 freed slaves were settled on 400,000 acres (1,600 km²) in Georgia and South Carolina. Soon after, President Johnson reversed the order and returned the land to its white former owners. Because of this, the phrase has come to represent the failure of Reconstruction and the general public to assist African Americans in the path from slavery to freedom

yup, I remember and it's pretty funny to think that we once owned them and if the government pennied this up then they would own us. I think that we should have given them what they deserved. Their lives might have been diffrent if we would have.

Well, yes, I believe that in some sense, but it is a lot harder to get a job when you are black than if you are white. Why do you think this is? Should affirmative action be used, in your opinion?

Well, yes, I believe that in some sense, but it is a lot harder to get a job when you are black than if you are white. Why do you think this is? Should affirmative action be used, in your opinion?

Well, yes, I believe that in some sense, but it is a lot harder to get a job when you are black than if you are white. Why do you think this is? Should affirmative action be used, in your opinion?

Hey, itsokayrelax, just so you know, I'm as white as sugar. So don't assume because someone is asking whether reparations would be fair that they are African-American. And you are probably the biggest racist I've ever heard.

So your telling me that blacks don't do that to whites? We go through the same things once in a while buddy.

How can we "GET OVER IT" when we deal with people like you daily!

It's hard to leave the past in the past when it's thrown in your face everyday, getting called "chocolate", being followed around in the mall, having people look down on you etc.

The past isn't done... because African Americans are still dealing with racism from slavery. Im bi-racial too, and have less then 25% black in me. But since I'm an "exotic" mixture ... I've always been questioned growing up, "What race are you?" I was always one to be proud of everything I'm mixed with... but mentioning that I was part black only caused me to have to deal with racist remarks. Such as "Why don't you and your family get back on that slave ship." I've been called the "N" word, and the list goes on. Why should I have to deal with slavery related racism if its in the past? It's not.

You arent dealing with the past...you are dealign with the ignorance and stupidity of ppl TODAY....leave the past where it belongs IN THE PAST thats why its called the PAST....ppl need to quite pulling the "whoa is my ancestors" card and trying to make a buck off it...thats just a damn shady as slave owners in the first place! MOVE FORWARD PPL work towards a better tomorrow because bottomline is this YOU CANT CHANGE THE PAST!

I agree with you, about the educational repirations, that would be better than just giving out money, but instead giving out scholarships to schools so that people can get a better life.

Tell you what, you'd get into that university, the way you spell. Rapp = rap grammer = grammar severally = severely

Amen! LOL

I like what you just said. reparations can not be leagally justified and it would not hold up in court. why do you think after at least 3 generations ( at least that what it is on my end my great grandmother was a slave)there is this want of money from the government?

Probably no slaves, but relatives of slaves, at least grandchildren or greatgrandchildren.

Slavery was abolished in the mid-1800s. I don't think anyone is still alive that actually was a slave. At least not in the United States.

What people tend to forget is that not all the slave traders where white. Even the Africans were selling off their own people. So, by your estimation, those descendents of the black slave traders should pay. Not realistic.

I had to get some discussion on here, I'm tired of one word answers - :) And cool use of the Madagascar graphic. Europe, I agree. I think perhaps Africans would have been able to progress more as a country if the slave trade has not taken so many people from Africa, and if Europeans and Americans had not taken so many resources from Africa.

and who do you think gets more welfare here in the US ? Not the whites all other colors

That is a good idea, with the organizations. Something that could actually help people.

That is a good idea, with the organizations. Something that could actually help people.

I've heard this too. The problem is a lot of African Americans expect to get a hand out for something that happened many years ago. As far as jobs and such, affirmative action is still going on today and to me that is wrong. It should be the better qualified, not because of your skin color.

That's a good point. Do you think that if people were given no opportunities, though, that would make them work harder to succeed or would they just give up? Perhaps, if money were given as a grant, with the intent to start their own business or pay for college, or something, would it be okay then? I agree that if you think you're a victim, you will probably act like one, though.

I think it should also be best qualified, but the problem is, most are not better qualified and it's not their fault, they haven't been able to afford the training and college education needed to "get ahead". That's why I think that scholarships would be an excellent idea.

working I like that idea. most educated blacks don't want something ( cash) just for ourselves in the idea of reparations. having a national college fund or business fund that suppliments what is given in financial aid or business loans through sba would be great. what state are you in? we should present this idea to are legislators.

I don't remember Italian, Irish or Japanese Americans being enslaved, certaintly not in the way that African Americans were.

I would be willing to have something come out of my check. Shoot, even if everyone paid $1 - $2 per paycheck to go to a scholarship fund intended for minorities and low income, that'd be a lot of money after a while.

First of all, rascism is happening all over the world and not just african americans. Are we expected to pay everyone who ever suffered because of slavery. Slavery happened to all races, not just african americans.

How can people get over it? Racism is a big issue for African Americans today. Then you have to think where it started... slavery.

Since when are we paying Native Americans? Can you provide some information on this claim?

Because Affirmative action is a form of rascism. Choosing someone because of their race and not because of their qualifications is rascism.

in response to starr Affirmative action is giving opportunities to people who've had them stolen from them throughout all history. You and I both know that corporate America is stuffed with old white men who've been taking advantage of every person they could in their race to the top. Affirmative action gives people who haven't had as much luck get a piece of the pie.

http://zanzibar.net/zanzibar/history/slave_trade Check out this link. There is a lot of information here. I remember watching something, I can't remember if it was on the History Channel or a special on Oprah, but anyway, they went to one of the old slave cities and it showed the tunnels the slaves had to walked through, all chained together, before they got to the slave ships. It was really depressing, and like you said "men, you will weep for Africa", it's true, I was crying by the end of the show, to see how cruelly people had acted in the past.