Resolved: The United States Federal Government ought to
pay reparations to African Americans.
Public Forum Debate - Sept/October Public Forum Topic 2015
REPARATIONS: NEGATIVE EVIDENCE FILE
Table of Contents
Federal Government not responsible for slavery. ..................................................................................................... 3
1.
2.
No link between slavery and current inequality.......................................................................................................... 3
The link between slavery and poor economic standings disappeared long ago. .............................................. 3
Reparations delegitimize the African American movement. .................................................................................. 4
1.
2.
Reparations for African-Americans will lead to similar programs for other minorities. .............................. 4
Reparations would also alienate allied progressive voting power in government .......................................... 4
Reparations are infeasible. .............................................................................................................................................. 5
1.
2.
Reparations are extremely costly. .................................................................................................................................... 5
Legal barriers prevent federally funded reparations from becoming a reality. ............................................... 5
Reparations trade off with much-needed programs. ................................................................................................ 6
1.
2.
3.
Our economy would cripple if we were to provide reparations.............................................................................. 6
Trades off with welfare support and financial assistance. ...................................................................................... 6
Trades off with educational benefits and employment aid. ..................................................................................... 6
Reparations result in increased racial divide. ............................................................................................................ 7
1.
2.
3.
Reparations would increase white resentment. .......................................................................................................... 7
Reparations prolong future racism and damaging views........................................................................................ 7
Reparation discourse will only entrench beliefs further .......................................................................................... 7
Reparations are ineffective. ............................................................................................................................................ 9
1.
2.
Reparations fail to repair the mindset of African Americans. ................................................................................ 9
At best, reparations only address the short-term problems.................................................................................... 9
Reparations lack long-term solvency. ......................................................................................................................... 10
2.
Financial reparations wouldn’t cure the root cause of racism. ............................................................................ 10
Alternatives to paying reparations .............................................................................................................................. 11
1.
Giving young African American education opportunities would be much more effective. .......................... 11
The country views of reparations are divided. ......................................................................................................... 12
1.
The majority of Americans are against the payment of reparations. ................................................................ 12
Reparations would preclude future repair. ............................................................................................................... 13
1.
The movement against racism would lose support. ................................................................................................. 13
REPARATIONS: NEGATIVE EVIDENCE FILE
Federal Government not responsible for slavery.
1. No link between slavery and current inequality
Gregory Kane. “Why the Reparations Movement Should Fail.” University of Maryland Law Journal of Race,
Religion, Gender and Class. 2003. http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1040&context=rrgc
The reparations movement faces significant problems in trying to name people who have a legitimate claim against individual defendants. There are no
slaves alive today who can bring suit, and there are no slave-owners who can be sued. This is a distinct difference between reparations for slavery and
reparations paid to Japanese Americans or to victims of the Holocaust. 65 Here, proponents cannot show direct harm. Instead, they are seeking to have
the government pay reparations to individuals who are several generations removed from slavery. The government must, they contend," pay for the
"lingering effects," "vestiges" or "legacy" of slavery that, they claim, still affect black America today.69 However, it is impossible to determine whether
a link exists between slavery and the problems facing Blacks today. For example, reparations proponents bludgeon the opposition into submission with a
wealth of data
about poverty, infant mortality rates, health care and the number of black men in
the prison system.7° However, many of these problems have only surfaced within the last forty years and cannot be traced
directly to slavery. 71
2. The link between slavery and poor economic standings disappeared long ago.
Peter Flaherty and John Carlisle, President and Director of Policy, National Legal and Policy Center, “The Case Against Slave Reparations”,
The National Legal and Policy Center, October 2004, accessed at http://nlpc.org/sites/default/files/Reparationsbook.pdf, 6-302015, MW
Perhaps the strongest evidence that today’s problems among African Americans are not due to slavery comes from an exhaustive study titled “Slavery
and the Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital” by Bruce Sacerdote of the Dartmouth College economics department. Sacerdote finds that
the economic disparities between the descendants of former slaves and the descendants of free
blacks largely disappeared within just two generations following emancipation. Thus, the injustices
visited upon one generation seem to have little if any harmful effect on that generation’s grandsons and granddaughters. “The rich existing literature on
social mobility and income mobility would suggest that such convergence (i.e. recovery from slavery) may take place rather rapidly,” writes
Sacerdote.68 Sacerdote studied the matter by comparing outcomes for former slaves and their children and grandchildren, to outcomes for free blacks
and their children and grandchildren. The study takes into account literacy, schooling status, occupation and socioeconomic status. Sacerdote used
census data from 1880 and 1920, grouping people into three generations to examine outcomes for those born before 1865 and their children and
grandchildren. He found that in 1880 there was a huge literacy gap between former slaves and free-born blacks, but that the gap narrowed considerably
over the next two generations. In a similar vein, children of former slaves were less likely to be enrolled in school than children of free blacks in 1880,
but by 1920 the gap largely disappeared among grandchildren of blacks born into slavery and the grandchildren of free-born blacks. Grandchildren of
slaves were 6 percent less likely to be enrolled in school than grandchildren of free blacks, but this effect goes away completely after controlling for
region. Regarding income, former slaves—not surprisingly—worked in occupations with lower median income than those of blacks born free. But
between 1880 and 1920, the income gap had substantially narrowed. The literacy gap between blacks and whites also substantially narrowed from the
first generation of children born after the Civil War to the next generation. By 1920, the effect of slavery status on literacy disappears completely.
Sacerdote writes, “The large black-white wage gaps observed in the twentieth century could be a separate phenomenon from the direct effects of slavery
on slaves and their descendants.” He added, “What the study shows is how little slavery actually has to do with today’s problems. It seems rather
unlikely that slavery itself caused a lot of the racism problems present in the U.S. today.”
REPARATIONS: NEGATIVE EVIDENCE FILE
Reparations delegitimize the African American movement.
1. Reparations for African-Americans will lead to similar programs for other minorities.
David Frum, senior editor of The Atlantic. “The Impossibility of Reparations.” The Atlantic. June 3, 2014.
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/06/the-impossibility-of-reparations/372041/
Within only a very few months of the implementation of Philadelphia plan, preferences of various kinds were extended to women, Hispanics, and other
groups. With any program of reparations, likewise, other claimants will come forward .
If African Americans are due payment
for slavery, and subjugation, what about Native Americans, who lost a whole continent? What about Mexican-Americans, who were deprived by
the Mexican-American war of the right to migrate into half their former country? Japanese Americans, interned during World War II? Chinese
Americans, the victims of coolie labor and the Oriental Exclusion Acts? Members of these groups may concede that they were not maltreated in the same
way as African Americans—and may not be entitled to exactly the same consideration. But if black Americans are entitled to almost a trillion dollars in
compensation (Coates suggests a figure of $34 billion a year “for a decade or two”) surely
these other maltreated groups must
be entitled at least to something?
2. Reparations would also alienate allied progressive voting power in government
Thomas McCarthy, “Repairing Past Injustice: Remarks on the Politics of Reparations for Slavery in the United States” Summer/Autumn 2012,
Center for World Dialogue, accessed 8/21/15, http://www.worlddialogue.org/content.php?id=540
On the other hand, the racially focused character of the reparations movement does raise practical–political problems for building the sorts of coalitions
needed not only for progressive struggles generally but for the success of the reparations movement itself. The
reactions of other
deprived segments of the population to an agenda targeting only black disadvantages could
heighten divisiveness among potential allies and choke off political support for reparations. This is, it
seems to me, a very real problem; but it is a practical and not a moral problem. It does not speak to the injustice of reparations but to their difficulty. Much
will depend on how leaders of other disadvantaged groups deal with the reactions of their members—for instance, on whether they seek to direct them
towards governmental and corporate powers-that-be in an effort to gain justice for their own constituents as well.31
REPARATIONS: NEGATIVE EVIDENCE FILE
Reparations are infeasible.
1. Reparations are extremely costly.
Peter Flaherty, (Pres., National Legal and Policy Center), THE CASE AGAINST SLAVE REPARATIONS, 2009, 1.
Demands for reparations reach into the trillions of dollars. Some advocates favor direct cash payments by the U.S. government to blacks, while others favor
support for organizations and other initiatives aimed at assisting blacks. Activist lawyer Dr. Robert Brock, for example, wants the government to pay
$500,000 to every slave descendant. Given that the large majority of the 35 million African Americans have a slave ancestor, that would amount to more
than $15 trillion and require a surtax of roughly $50,000 on each non-African American man, woman and child in this country (the median family income is
not even that high). One
estimate, cited in a Harper’s magazine article, puts the reparations total at $97 trillion, based
on 222,505,049 hours of forced labor between 1619 and 1865, “compounded at 6% interest
through 1993.”
Vinik, May 21, 2014. [Danny
Vinik, Degrees in economics and public policy from Duke and political reporter at Business
Insider, “The Economics of Reparations: Why Congress Should Meet Ta-Nahisi Coates’s Modest Demand”, New Republic,
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/117856/academic-evidence-reparations-costs-are-limited] AZ
Larry Neal, an economist at the University of Illinois, calculated the difference between the wages that slaves would have received from 1620 to 1840,
minus estimated maintenance costs spent by slave owners, and reached a total of $1.4 trillion in 1983 dollars. At an annual rate of interest of 5 percent, that’s
more than $6.5 trillion in 2014—just in lost wages.
In a separate estimate in 1983, James Marketti calculated it at
$2.1 trillion, equal to $10 trillion today. In 1989, economists Bernadette Chachere and Gerald Udinsky estimated that labor market
discrimination between 1929 and 1969 cost black Americans $1.6 trillion.
2. Legal barriers prevent federally funded reparations from becoming a reality.
Anthony Gifford ( Lawyer on the Queen’s council). “The Legal Basis of the Claim of Slavery Reparations”.
Accessed 7/9/15. Published . http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/27880198.pdf?acceptTC=true .
There is at present no court that would be competent to hear a claim for reparations. The
settlement of such claims would require a new mechanism commensurate with the uniqueness and
vastness of the issues. At this state it is premature to consider the composition of any commission or tribunal that might ultimately adjudicate the
claim. The adjudicating body would carry authority only if it has been set up with the concurrence of all interested parties through international recognition
of the justice of the claim. This, in turn, demands a massive effort in educating and mobilizing public opinion forward.
REPARATIONS: NEGATIVE EVIDENCE FILE
Reparations trade off with much-needed programs.
1. Our economy would cripple if we were to provide reparations.
Gregory Kane( University of Maryland).Race Religion Gender and Class. Accessed 7/8/15. Published 2003.
http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1040&context=rrgc .
“Some advocates claim that the government owes Blacks approximately $1.6 trillion for slavery and its lingering effects.75 Others claim the number is as
high as $24 trillion. Separate from the cash amount, some advocates demand social programs, including continued affirmative action, community building
initiatives that are not granted to other disadvantaged groups, and preferential treatment.77 In 2000, the total output for our entire economy was about $9.8
trillion. Trying
to meet these unreasonable demands would overwhelm our national resources and
substantially increase our national debt. Given the current state of our economy, everyone would suffer as a result. Currently, the
federal government funds the economy either through taxes or by assuming the debt.79 Paying reparations would essentially hold all citizens
accountable for the debt and would undermine our entire economic system. 8 These demands are completely unrealistic”
2. Trades off with welfare support and financial assistance.
In June 2014, Jonathan
Blanks of the Cato institute furthered Jonathan Blanks, “America owes black people more than it has given—
but reparations aren’t the answer”, Rare: America’s News Feed, July 29th 2014 DOA: 6/30/15 http://rare.us/story/america-owes-black-people-more-thanit-has-given-but-reparations-arent-the-answer/ PEZ
Reparations as smaller annuity or monthly payments presumably would be less likely to create the windfall problems, though certainly poor investment
decisions—such as trading rights to those payments in exchange for a lump sum from a third party—would likely occur. However, payments such as
these may, without change to older law, disrupt
public assistance outlays or perhaps housing for the neediest
black Americans. Such payments would unlikely be enough to live on by themselves, thus trading welfare for reparation
payments is unlikely to substantively improve life for those whose life could be most improved by
additional income.
3. Trades off with educational benefits and employment aid.
David Horowitz, conservative writer, editor, FrontPage Magazine, “Ten Reasons Why Reparations for Blacks in a Bad Idea for Blacks
– and Racist Too”, FrontPage Magazine, January 3, 2001, accessed at http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=24317, 6-30-2015,
MW
Eight Reparations To African Americans Have Already Been Paid
Since the passage of the Civil Rights Acts and the advent of the Great Society in 1965,
trillions of dollars in transfer payments have been made to African-Americans in the form of
welfare benefits and racial preferences (in contracts, job placements and educational admissions) all under the rationale of redressing historic racial grievances. It is said that reparations are necessary to achieve a healing between African- Americans and
other Americans. If trillion dollar restitutions and a wholesale rewriting of American law (in order to accommodate racial preferences) for AfricanAmericans is not enough to achieve a "healing," what will?
REPARATIONS: NEGATIVE EVIDENCE FILE
Reparations result in increased racial divide.
1. Reparations would increase white resentment.
Vernellia R. Randall (Professor of Law University of Dayton).”The Utilit and Disadvantages of Reparations”. Accessed
7/8/15. Published Website created in 1995.
http://www.racism.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=535:repara29d&catid=117:reparations&Itemid=140 .
Reparations may also lead to an increased division in society. At a time when many people think we ought to be moving
in the direction of a colorblind society, reparations talk makes that difficult. Or at least it raises the prospect of continued focus on race. At the same time,
two groups of commentators, reparationists and some conservatives, see reparations as a way of ending the significance of race. For reparationists like
Rhonda Magee-Andrews, the author of one of the most important articles ever written on reparations, the prospects of reparations offer the hope of someday,
perhaps someday soon, ending the legal significance of race. We may be able to get to the point at which the damage has been repaired. Then, as MageeAndrews argues in a recent pathbreaking article, "The Third Reconstruction," maybe then we can move on to a focus on helping those in the community who
need help the most. The central element of attention will be need. There are also conservatives, with whom Magee-Andrews shares little in philosophy, who
see reparations as a way to end the focus on race. Once
there is a reckoning, the reparations can be paid and the
government will stop paying attention to race. There will be no more affirmative action or other
race-conscious action. However appealing such a world may appear, as a simple solution to age-old problems, it is unlikely that reparations offer
that kind of closure. Difficulties of racial equality are unlikely to be solved overnight.
Coleman Luck (University of Maryland). Accessed 7/7/15 . Published http://www.colemanluck.com/dustyarchive/essays/Reparations%20for%20the%20Descendents%20of%20American%20Slaves.pdf ..
There is no connection between the victims of the “crime” and the people who would be receiving “compensation.” Since there is no emotional connection
there can be no “closure.” Payment
of reparations would only increase racial tension. It wouldn’t change
black attitudes and whites would resent it.
2. Reparations prolong future racism and damaging views.
Gregory Kanefd=( University of Maryland).University of Maryland Law Journal. Accessed 7/9/15. Published 2003. This is
my tag.
In addition, there is no way to accurately identify who were descendants of slaves and those of slave-owners. Generations of people were bom who belonged
to both groups. Our nation today is reflection of many different cultures and ethnicities coalescing into one "melting pot." As a result, asking
for
reparations based solely on the fact that a person is black actually perpetuates the same racism
that proponents vigorously argue to curtail. It would be unfair to penalize and simultaneously reward reparations to people today
when our history is incredibly convoluted
Taunya Lovell Banks (Prof. at University of Maryland School of Law), Australian Human Rights Commision,
Dream Deferred or Fantasy: Reflections on the Current Black Reparations Movement in the United States, Google, Accessed 7/28/2015, C.S.,
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/dream-deferred-or-fantasy-reflections-current-black-reparations-movement-unitedstates#73https://www.humanrights.gov.au/dream-deferred-or-fantasy-reflections-current-black-reparations-movement-united-states - 73
Robert Westley, (Tulane Law Prof.) [for example] writes that an overwhelming majority of white Americans believe (in equal opportunities for African
Americans). [“that black and white children should attend the same school; and a majority believe in equal employment opportunities”.] Yet these same
Americans overwhelmingly oppose government initiated actions to remedy discrimination in
education and employment.Despite the belief by most white Americans in equal employment opportunities and school integration, antiblack sentiment persists. Thus, Oliver and Shapiro (prof at Washington University, prof. at Brandeis University) express legitimate concerns about the
impact of black reparations. For example, they question whether [political or economic] reparations might not be the right choice at this moment in
America's history because reparations
"may inflame more racial antagonism than they extinguish."
3. Reparation discourse will only entrench beliefs further
REPARATIONS: NEGATIVE EVIDENCE FILE
Brendan Nyhan, RWJ Scholar in Health Policy Research School of Public Health University of
Michigan (Political Behavior, "When Corrections Fail: The persistence of political misperceptions", 2006,
https://www.dartmouth.edu/~nyhan/nyhan-reifler.pdf, DA 8/14/15)
Conclusion The experiments reported in this paper help us understand why factual misperceptions about politics are so persistent. We find that responses to
corrections in mock news articles differ significantly according to subjects’ ideological views. As a result, the corrections
fail to reduce
misperceptions for the most committed participants. Even worse, they actually strengthen
misperceptions among ideological subgroups in several cases. Additional results suggest that these conclusions are not
specific to the Iraq war; not related to the salience of death; and not a reaction to the source of the correction. Our results thus contribute to the literature on
correcting misperceptions in three important respects. First, we provide a direct test of corrections on factual beliefs about politics and show that responses
to corrections about controversial political issues vary systematically by ideology.
REPARATIONS: NEGATIVE EVIDENCE FILE
Reparations are ineffective.
1. Reparations fail to repair the mindset of African Americans.
Gregory Kane ( University of Maryland Law Journal Visiting professor at Johns Hopkins University).”Why the reparations
movemetn should fail”. Accessed 7/9/15. Published 2003. http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1040&context=rrgc .
Reparations advocates fail to realize that reparation
handouts will never cure the ills Blacks face today as
individuals and as a community.' Reparations will not give Blacks self-worth. It will not lower
poverty, the crime rates or out of wedlock birth rates, even though proponents try to use these statistics to justify their claim
that the government should pay reparations. These problems are engrained within our culture. They are a mindset that cannot be changed by any proposed
reparations. Instead, proponents should devote their time and energy to alleviate theses problems by proposing viable solutions that will truly impact Blacks
in a positive way.Reparations will not alleviate economic issues.
2. At best, reparations only address the short-term problems.
(Human Rights watch). “The World Conference against racism, and racial discrimination”. Accessed7/7/15. Published July 19, 2001.
https://www.hrw.org/legacy/campaigns/race/index.htm.
Seventh, this approach would help avoid a problem of intergenerational justice. If reparations are made in the form of payments to individuals rather than
investment in the economic and social dynamics behind continuing marginalization, that would raise questions about why today's generation should be seen
as more deserving of these payments than tomorrow's generation or the next. Such payments
would unjustifiably privilege
today's descendants while leaving later generations suffering from the same racism-induced
deprivation. By contrast, reparations aimed at redressing the economic and social dynamics behind systemic impoverishment would improve the lot
of both today's and subsequent generations and, if successful, end continuing victimization.
REPARATIONS: NEGATIVE EVIDENCE FILE
Reparations lack long-term solvency.
1. Reparations lack long-term solvency.
(Human Rights watch). “The World Conference against racism, and racial discrimination”. Accessed7/7/15. Published July 19, 2001.
https://www.hrw.org/legacy/campaigns/race/index.htm.
Seventh, this approach would help avoid a problem of intergenerational justice. If reparations are made in the form of payments to individuals rather than
investment in the economic and social dynamics behind continuing marginalization, that would raise questions about why today's generation should be seen
as more deserving of these payments than tomorrow's generation or the next. Such payments
would unjustifiably privilege
today's descendants while leaving later generations suffering from the same racism-induced
deprivation. By contrast, reparations aimed at redressing the economic and social dynamics behind systemic impoverishment would improve the lot
of both today's and subsequent generations and, if successful, end continuing victimization.
2. Financial reparations wouldn’t cure the root cause of racism.
Adrian Vermuele in 2005 observed that monetary reparations cannot make up for harms: Vermeule of the University of Chicago
Law School in September 2005 “Reparations as Rough Justice”, The University of Chicago Law School: Chicago Unbound,
https://www.law.uchicago.edu/files/files/105.pdf, 6/30/15, KBC
The second large problem Satz identifies is that money may be incommensurable with the goods, material or intangible, lost as a result of the injustice.
When injustices are inflicted – and I will stipulate that they were in the internment case – cash payments seem to miss the
point. As Satz puts it in another connection, “financial compensation seems jarring because it does not match the type of
harm it is being used to counter.”
REPARATIONS: NEGATIVE EVIDENCE FILE
Alternatives to paying reparations
1. Giving young African American education opportunities would be much more effective.
Richard Epstein (Senior
Fellow, Hoover Institution), “The Case Against Reparations for Slavery”, The Libertarian, the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, May
27th 2014, DOA: 6/23/14 http://www.hoover.org/research/case-against-reparations-slavery
Rather than speaking of reparations, we should consider the many constructive steps that could,
and should, be taken right now as part of our ongoing social commitments to black Americans. It is
striking that Coates makes no mention of the charter school movement, which is working overtime to give less
fortunate children of all races opportunities that would be otherwise denied to them. Nor does he ask how to
[we should] remove the barriers to entry that progressive legislation has placed in the path of minority
workers, including such statutes as the antidiscrimination laws and minimum wage laws that Coates
presumably supports. These laws make it more difficult for African Americans to get jobs in today’s labor
market. Deregulation, by contrast, knocks down barriers to entry instead of erecting them in the name
of greater racial or economic justice. Coates should embrace the libertarian principles that explain the injustices of racism to forge a
Epstein of the Hoover Institution in May 2014 lists a few ways in which these reparations could take place
new set of forward-looking policies.
REPARATIONS: NEGATIVE EVIDENCE FILE
The country views of reparations are divided.
1. The majority of Americans are against the payment of reparations.
Emily Swanson (CNN Poll), June 2 2014 [Emily Swanson, News Survey Specialist, “Americans Can't Even Stomach An Apology For Slavery,
Much Less Reparations” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/02/reparations-poll_n_5432116.html] AA
In one survey, Americans
said by a 68 percent to 15 percent margin that the government should not
make payments to black Americans who are the descendants of slaves. Americans were somewhat more likely to
say they would support reparations for slavery if they came in the form of education or job training programs, but still rejected the idea by a 57 percent to
27 percent margin. Public
opinion on the issue appears unchanged in the past decade: In a CNN/USA
poll conducted in 2002, just 14 percent of Americans said they would support making
cash payments to slaves' descendants.
Today/Gallup
REPARATIONS: NEGATIVE EVIDENCE FILE
Reparations would preclude future repair.
1. The movement against racism would lose support.
Alfred L. Brophy [Professor of Law, University of Alabama], The Cultural War over Reparations for Slavery, 53 DePaul
Law Review 1211-1213 (Spring 2004). http://academic.udayton.edu/race/02rights/repara29d.htm
Eric Yamamoto is one of the rare reparationists who takes seriously the disadvantages of reparations. He acknowledges the potential of reparations to lead
to feelings of victimology and political backlash. Victimhood is not just a mind set, however. There are other problems with it. Reparations
talk
can be distracting. Reparations may cause people to focus on past injustice, at a time when the energy
should be focused somewhere else. Reparations may also lead to an increased division in society. At a time
when many people think we ought to be moving in the direction of a colorblind society, reparations talk
makes that difficult. Or at least it raises the prospect of continued focus on race. At the same time, two groups of
commentators, reparationists and some conservatives, see reparations as a way of ending the significance of race. For
reparationists like Rhonda Magee-Andrews, the author of one of the most important articles ever written on reparations, the prospects of reparations offer
the hope of someday, perhaps someday soon, ending the legal significance of race. We may be able to get to the point at which the damage has been
repaired. Then, as Magee-Andrews argues in a recent pathbreaking article, "The Third Reconstruction," maybe then we can move on to a focus on helping
those in the community who need help the most. The central element of attention will be need. There are also conservatives, with whom Magee-Andrews
shares little in philosophy, who see reparations as a way to end the focus on raceOnce
there is a reckoning, the reparations can be
paid and the government will stop paying attention to race. There will be no more affirmative action or
other race-conscious action.
(Peter Flaherty (President of the National Legal and Policy Center) and John Carlisle (Director of Policy at NLPC),“The Case
Against Slave Reparations”, National Legal and Policy Center, N.D. 2005 , DOA: 6/24/15 http://nlpc.org/sites/default/files/Reparationsbook.pdf PEZ)
Reparations advocates ostensibly think compensation would heal racial wounds. Randall Robinson, for example, says there is no chance that America can
solve its racial problems without reparations. Actually, it would exacerbate racial divisions. The notion of forcing innocents to pay people who were never
enslaved would likely generate bitterness throughout the country. In addition, the iniquitous transfer of wealth from poorer non-blacks to more affluent
blacks would stir widespread outrage. Walter Williams, a black professor and columnist, observed, “I can’t think of a better fortification for racism than
reparations to blacks. . . . To force whites today, who were not in any way responsible for slavery, to make payments to black people—many of whom may
be better off [than the whites]—will create nothing but great resentment” among whites. Reparations, writes Robert W. Tracinski of the Ayn Rand Institute,
implies that by simply belonging to the same race as slave owners, whites still bear a collective responsibility. Each member is blamed for actions of other
members who lived long ago. The ultimate result, he warns, will not be racial harmony or a color-blind society, but “racial warfare.” Says Tracinski, “It
encourages the view of blacks and whites as a collective of victims pitted against an opposing and hostile collective of oppressors, with no possibility for
integration or peaceful coexistence.” Recent incidents in Alabama and Mississippi provide a foretaste of what would happen if slave reparations became a
reality. In 2000, a record $1 billion was paid out to black farmers based on a lawsuit that alleged racial discrimination at the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. Fliers were circulated singling out black farmers who received settlement money, condemning the lawsuit as a massive “rip-off” stemming
from governmental pandering to minorities. Slave reparations would involve much more money and be on a much wider scale. The ensuing racial
animosity would be unimaginably worse.
In addition to exacerbating race relations, slave reparations also would
weaken any national effort to eradicate poverty among blacks. Glen Loury, director of the Institute of Race and Social
Division at Boston University, says it would be a Pyrrhic victory for African Americans. “It will undermine the claim for further help down the road,
because the rest of America will say, ‘Shut up: You’ve been paid.’”
Carol M. Swain, [professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University], "The New White
Nationalism in America: Its Challeng
e to Integration," Cambridge University Press, 2002.
The reparations debate involves many more complex issues which cannot be dealt with in the present context. What
can be said here is that
talk about reparations at the present time is ill-advised and can be positively harmful in terms of
improving race relations and garnering support for policies to help the truly distressed. Current
reparations talk inflames the white electorate, undermines the bridge-building process across racial lines,
fuels white nationalist sentiments, and is insufficiently targeted in its aims to help those members of
minority groups who are most in need. Sowell here is undoubtedly correct when he says the whole matter should be dropped.