Posted on 03/26/2002 9:45:30 AM PST by areafiftyone
(New York-AP) -- A federal lawsuit seeking slave reparations for the 35 million descendants of African slaves has been filed in Brooklyn. The lawsuit names three corporations, along with up to one thousand unidentifed corporations, saying they profitied from slavery and sometimes helped it continue in the U.S. between 1619 and 1865.
The lawsuit says ``the practice of slavery constituted an immoral and inhumane depravation of Africans. At a news conference to announce the filing, lawyer Roger Wareham said the lawsuit was seeking unspecified damages to be put into a fund that would improve the health education and housing opportunities for African Americans.
The plaintiff in the lawsuit was identified as Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, who said that she went to law school with the goal of eventually suing for damages as a reuslt of slavery. She said as many as 60 companies had coperated with her five years of research and provided documents showing how they had assisted the institution of slavery.
Lawyer Ed Fagan said that a series of holocaust lawsuits settled for eight (B) billion dollars had blazed the legal trail for the slavery action.
The other 34,999,999 blacks will get about a $1 each for their "pain and suffering". Gotta hate them lawyer fees.
< snicker >
Article 1, Section 9
. The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
Note: This clause expired 1808.
The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.
No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken.
No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any state. No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another; nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obligated to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States; and no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
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No matter how you feel about slavery or the morality or immorality of reparations, the fact is that slavery was legal until 1865. Forcing a company to pay reparations of any kind for something that was legal is an expost facto law and is therefore unconstitutional.
Who paid her tuition? If it was a federally secured grant or loan, I want my money back.
the lawsuit was seeking unspecified damages to be put into a fund that would improve the health education and housing opportunities for African Americans.
How many billions of dollars have HEW and HUD burned through doing just this for decades?
You have a point there. But how much do you want to make a bet that these companies will soil in their diapers and pay billions out of fear.
I wonder if this means that once they pay up, those three companies don't have to continue their own affirmative action programs.
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