Posted on 07/24/2004 6:38:51 AM PDT by southcarolina1860
Group wants blacks compensated for treatment endured by ancestors
Slavery ended more than a century ago, but society owes a debt to blacks for the abuses their ancestors suffered, Columbia minister Ernest Louis says.
Louis worked Friday to get that message out — and he’ll do it again today when a group he heads marches on the State Capitol. It’s the highlight of a three-day state conference on reparations, a lightning rod for debate across the nation.
Put simply, Louis wants the government and corporations to compensate blacks whose forebears were enslaved centuries ago. That could come through direct payments, laws to protect black land ownership or free health care for elderly black people, said those who attended Friday’s conference.
It’s an issue that sparks scorching, polarized disputes across the country. Many whites, some descended from slave owners, say they should not be held liable for the treatment of blacks hundreds of years ago.
But to Louis and others who favor reparations, it’s not that cut and dried.
Blacks not only suffered from slavery, but they also were hurt because the government made inadequate provisions to help them after the Civil War. Poor education, the loss of their land and menial jobs have kept blacks from advancing, said Louis, who chairs the S.C. Statewide Maafa Reparations Committee.
So it’s only fair to compensate people who haven’t gotten the same opportunities as white society, he said. He didn’t know how much blacks might be owed in South Carolina, but some reports have placed the national tab in the trillions of dollars.
“We were freed without any compensation, just thrown out,” Louis said. “When we needed food and a secure job, what could we do?”
In contrast, many former white slave owners still had wealth from before the war that had been gained through slavery, Louis said. And their descendants benefited from the wealth, he said.
Getting legislation passed might be tough, especially in conservative South Carolina. Louis conceded that his small group has a lot of ground to cover if the reparations movement is to grow in a state where Africans were brought centuries ago and sold at a market in Charleston.
Will Folks, spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford, said he’s never heard the governor advance reparations as part of his priorities.
Folks said a favorable tax climate and improved education should help all South Carolinians.
Meanwhile, Louis said he’s hoping for a big crowd at today’s rally.
The event, to begin at 9 a.m. at Martin Luther King Park near Five Points, is expected to draw supporters from Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia. From there, the group will march to the State House for a rally, which is being billed as a national event. Representatives from national civil rights and reparations groups are expected.
Friday’s conference at the Cecil Tillis conference center on Oak Street did not draw a large crowd. No more than a dozen people attended the morning sessions. But those who were there agreed the nation and South Carolina need to address reparations for blacks.
Willie Heyward, a Charleston lawyer who works to protect black landowners’ interests, explained how many black sea islanders have lost their land to development because they didn’t have undisputed title to the property. Stronger government laws would allow people who have lived on property for generations to keep the land, even if they don’t have clear title, he said.
“Land absolutely ... is something that blacks, through government fiat and laws, have been divested of and really need some sort of restitution for,” Heyward said.
Reach Fretwell at (803) 771-8537 or sfretwell@thestate.com.
I looked at my taxes, and I concluded we were already doing all of these things!
I am sick of this whole race thing that is always brought up by the Rats. If they really want to see some racism, pass this reparations BS.
Historically speaking, then, what about indentured servitude? Or those sold as wives to get here? What about lands taken not for the Japanese but others, and for less worthy causes? Open up this can of worms, and its not just Blacks who'll be able to have cause.
It's that time of year again.
This goofiness resurfaces every year about this time.
Sorry. It's. I did forget to agree with you. Half the nation's male population died in that war. 50%. Since when isn't that blood payment enough?
Them stinking RATS never give up! No idea is too stupid if will get some ignorant fools vote.
Careful or else TN4Liberty will blame you for starting a piling on topic. Gosh we wouldn't want that...(blink blink)
"To tell the truth, it sounds like piling on the black guy for no particular reason."
111 posted on 07/24/2004 5:33:54 AM PDT by TN4Liberty
Where is Jesseeeee?
We paid in BLOOD for the sin of slavery.
North and South, 600,000 DIED.
Uncounted others were maimed for life.
The judgement came down hard on both sides.
There's the reparations!
This latest BS is just another attempt to pick the taxpayer's pocket.
What do Kerry and Edwards say about reparations? We need to know whether this will top their legislative agenda should they be elected.
I say we should have a voluntary "Reparations" checkoff on the tax forms, like we do for Campaign Funds and Non-game Wildlife ... and liberals should be required to show certified copies of how much they contributed!
No living slaveholders. No living slaves. Case closed. Unless we're talking about the Sudan, of course.
Wonder why Koreans do well here...
BTW, Welcome to Free Republic.
America deserves reparations for the preponderance of black crime that ravages the country.
"Many whites, some descended from slave owners,..."
What kind of a paper is this? Is it a mainstream pub. or South Carolina's answer to the Village Voice?
My understanding of US History is that there were very few people who owned slaves, even in the South it was only a minority of white people who were slave owners. Also, there were black people who owned slaves, will we find them and make them pay?
Further, didn't people get 40 acres and a mule? Black Americans should stop asking what white americans can do for them and start doing something for themselves.
Welcome to FR. Personally I have no problem paying reparations to liberal African-Americans. BUT, if you take the money ...you also get a one-way ticket back to Africa!
I'm part Irish. I want reparations too.
It's amazing how hard these folks work in trying to divide a nation. Enough already with pitty party....there are NO MORE slaves in this country and if they were honestly concerned about the way blacks are being treated today, then they would concentrate all there efforts on helping the blacks in Sudan!
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