Midwest Black Law Students Association
My name is Zachariah Y. Oluwabankole Babington-Johnson and I serve as the Regional Chair for
the Midwest Black Law Students Association (MWBLSA). This paper is presented in solidarity with my
constituents to the United Nations Working Group in regards to people of African descent.
The focus in MWBLSA is on spending money within our community, practicing group economics
and highlighting the current disparities that are a result of intentional destruction at the hands of various
U.S. institutions. In choosing to host our regional convention in Chicago, we did so because a man of
African descent, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, founded Chicago. 1 To date, our convention planning and
contracting has solely been with people of African descent. This effort is done to build up our community,
and to boycott institutions that continue to demonstrate a lack of care for people of African descent or our
issues.
Local economic and community development is the best path to freedom. However, various
industries in The U.S. reflect a consistent bias and discrimination against minorities, specifically people of
African descent. In addition, due to a lack of unity by people of African descent, the problems seem divided
and arbitrary, though in reality the issues are systematically coordinated. Slavery, and the lack of remedial
efforts from Europeans post slavery, caused most of the problems plaguing those of African descent. John
Henri Clark says “to hold a people in oppression you have to convince them first that they are supposed to
be oppressed.” Western assertions that majority major actors in the Bible are white, and the only people
that were black were Hams descendants substantiate this quote. 2Clark also said, “powerful people cannot
afford to educate the people that they oppress, because once you are truly educated, you will not ask for
power, you will take it.”
There is a proverb about how to control an elephant. By tying a chain to its leg and another end
tied to a metal stake in the ground, the baby elephant will constantly try to break free but will be unable to.
When the elephant grows to become a massive beast, it will remember the pains and impossibilities it faced
as a baby, and wont try and break free. 3 People of African descent have been in these mental and spiritual
chains, which now bear fruit not just in our beliefs, but in how we handle our finances, engage with our
community, and view the world. If God is white, and we are slaves for punishment, then there is nothing
we can do, and everything whites say about us must be true.
The Huffington Post published an article on October 6, 2015 entitled “The Worst Cities For Black
Americans.” The article cites that four of the cities with the greatest racial inequalities are in Illinois, two
are in Iowa and all others are in the rest of the Midwest. 4 In 1910 91 percent of those of African descent
lived in the South. 5 As a result of the great migration, millions of people of African descent migrated to the
North and Midwest.
6
Though the industrial revolution motivated and supported these moves, the recent decline of
industrial jobs has left many without jobs and without the requisite skills needed in the current job market.
Also, Midwestern states typically have lower African descent populations compared to the west, east and
south. However, it is cited that low numbers of populations are more easily discriminated upon and
alienated. Though some cite lack of education and specific skills as being the cause, it was noted that even
1
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/chicago/peopleevents/p_dusable.html
http://christiananswers.net/q-aig/race-blacks.html
2
http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/7796/can-an-elephant-be-trained-to-be-lightly3
leashed
4
Milwaukee, WI, Rockford, IL, Minneapolis, MN, Chicago/Naperville/Elgin, IL, IN, WI, Grand
Rapids/Wyoming, MI, Peoria, IL, Lima, OH, Kankakee, IL, Des Moines/West Des Moines, IA,
Waterloo/Cedar Falls, IA are all listed in descending order.
http://247wallst.com/specialreport/2015/10/06/the-worst-cities-for-black-americans/3/
Leo McGee & Robert Boone, Introduction in The Black rural Landowner –Endangered Species,
5
xvii (Leo McGee & Robert Boone eds., 1979) [Marable].
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/great-migration
6
people of African descent who have degrees struggle to find work. The Center for Economic and Policy
Research found that the unemployment rate for degree holding people of African descent is more than
double of those of other races. 7 Disparagingly, the article cites that whites with criminal records were more
likely to receive job callbacks, than those of African descent without any criminal history. The article
further goes to cite that from 2010 to 2012, 10 percent of black graduates with engineering degrees and 11
percent of those with math and computer-related degrees were unemployed, compared to only 7 percent of
those with similar degrees.
It is worth noting the irony of employer’s ability to cite that people of African descent are
unemployed, considering they are the same employers refusing to employ them. The police departments
cite criminal statistics because they are the creators of such numbers. Would they be as successful finding
whites committing criminal infractions if they specifically chose to aggressively police them?
The war on drugs has resulted in more than $51,000,000,000 being spent and 1.5 million people
being arrested in 2014 alone. 8 People of African descent make up 1 million of the 2.3 million incarcerated 9
In short, there is still an intentional systematic controlling of society, to the detriment of people of African
descent. The fact that we operate under institutions alludes to the idea that institutions work to document,
retrieve, create, and alter information that justifies the current state of The U.S. The current state of some
people of African descent mirrors that of the Native Americans hundreds of years ago.
The U.S. has consistently and systematically criminalized, unjustifiably criticized, and incorrectly
characterized people of African descent. Senator John Conyers, of Michigan, brought forth Bill H.R.40:
“Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act” which was referred to the
Subcommittee on the Constitution And Civil Justice on January 25, 2013. 10 While reparations are
commonly referred to in the form of “40 Acres and a Mule”, it was in fact a special field order of General
William T. Sherman that created this common adage. 11Although said decree was issued on January 16,
1865, U.S. President Andrew Johnson overturned the decree in the Fall of 1865. America has given out
free land to many different groups 12. However, while reparations have been paid as a result of slavery, none
have gone to the descendants of those enslaved. 13
Ultimately, some people of African descent suffer from ignorance of self due to a subliminally
abusive and controlling system which intentionally keeps chains on their minds and a sense of inferiority in
their souls. This has been so effective that even when people of African descent uncover truths about our
story, the biggest detractors are others of African descent. The Willie Lynch Syndrome is alive, well, and
bears the fruits which are still used to perpetuate the demise of people of African descent. 14
In closing, people of African descent are not far from where we were intended to be, in reference
to our economic, educational, health, and spiritual well being. We were denied the ability to participate in
the wealth creating initiatives in this country and yet we are blamed for our lack. We are unable to
orchestrate our emancipation because it seems like some of those here to help us, are unable to do so.
Whether it be the criminal justice system, or the agricultural system, people of African descent are in dire
straights and need assistance from the powers that be to help free us from the chains that look to keep us
captive.
7
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/05/when-a-degree-is-no-guarantee/371613/
http://www.drugpolicy.org/drug-war-statistics
8
http://www.naacp.org/pages/criminal-justice-fact-sheet
9
https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/40
10
11
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/shermans-field-order-no-15
https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/homestead-act/
12
https://atlantablackstar.com/2015/09/30/britain-compensated-46000-slave-owners-but-will-not13
pay-slavery-reparations-david-cameron-builds-jamaican-prison-instead/
http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2013/05/03/students-show-how-willie-lynch-syndrome14
still-prevalent/
Suggested Recommendations
1. That the United Nations address the lost identity of people of African
Descent. Specifically, the fact that there is no knowledge of self, precolonialism, thus making it more difficult to break away from detrimental
lifestyles and habits that we currently engage in.
a. The address can be made in several ways:
i. Free African History (from 1300-1900 A.D.) educational
courses provided by all colleges and universities.
ii. African History museums in impoverished communities
with scholars of color teaching young children the history
of how Africans were the originators of all things, including
math, macro and micro biology, chemistry, astronomy,
agriculture, meteorology, physics, neurology, etc.,
geography, music, art, poetry, languages, construction and
development, religion, and so much more.
2. That the United Nations conduct a public analysis on why reparations
have never been paid to war prisoners and colonized communities of
African Descent. Specifically paying attention to the lack of land
ownership and resources that should have been provided post
emancipation.
3. Student Loan forgiveness for all students of African descent who attend
an accredited graduate college, focusing on Mathematics, any type of
Science, the law, psychology (must focus on Psychology of people of
African descent) business (MBA program specifically) or politics.
4. Provide grants or loans for people of African descent who want to start
businesses (specifically: grocery stores, children’s clothing stores, hair
supply stores, home improvement stores, accessories stores, furniture
stores) within their community without having to back the loan with
personal assets. The loans must be approved through the credibility of
the person within their community.