Ex-Black Panther Sues Bush, Pope, Elizabeth II over Slavery

NewsMax ^ | 1/8/04 | Carl Limbacher

[WinOne4TheGipper]

Bob Brown, a former Black Panther and co-director of Pan-African Roots, filed a 183-page class-action lawsuit yesterday, claiming that 71 defendants owe reparations for slavery.

The suit names: The King of Spain, the Queen of England, the Pontiff, President Bush, and Jaques Chirac; the governors of Illinois, Virginia, Louisiana and Texas; nine ports; several major sugar, gun, tobacco, and railroad companies; many, many banks and even Bacardi Rum.

The Chicago Tribune pointed out that Brown will have difficulty with such a suit, considering that "slavery was legal, as well as the difficulty Brown and those he represents face in proving that they were directly deprived due to slavery." Not to mention the fact that it would be nearly impossible to prove that the pope or the current president had anything to do with slavery.

[Editor's note: In fact, if one wanted to sue anyone, one might think of suing the Democratic party, which, had Gen. George McClellan defeated Lincoln in 1864, would have eliminated emancipation in a conciliatory move toward the secessionist South, but we digress]

Bob Bennett, former dean of Northwestern University's law school told the Tribune: "The lawsuit strikes me as a rhetorical statement which probably belongs in the realm of political rhetoric and demonstration and maybe even lobbying, but not in a court of law."

Brown brought the suit himself, without the help of a lawyer, and has been working on it for two years, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

He is calling on those named as defendants in the suit ""to acknowledge and apologize for the role that they and their predecessors played and continue to play."

[Editor's note: No one is sure what role anyone continues to play in the slave trade, since it has been outlawed by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified almost 150 years ago, but we digress further]

Brown added that "Slavery was and is an illegal criminal enterprise," a point that is clearly not true; slavery is certainly immoral, wrong, horrific and heinous - but it was, unfortunately, legal in the South at the time.

Brown challenged Pope John Paul II directly: "The Pope must come and say the truth ... He must come and tell us why ... certain Catholic forces disobeyed Catholic laws, enslaved us and became unjustly enriched up on us. He must open the Vatican library and disclose the files."

[Maceman]

The Chicago Tribune pointed out that Brown will have difficulty with such a suit, considering that "slavery was legal, as well as the difficulty Brown and those he represents face in proving that they were directly deprived due to slavery." Not to mention the fact that it would be nearly impossible to prove that the pope or the current president had anything to do with slavery.

Not to mention that you couldn't have any black people on the jury, because they would all have an interest in the outcome. Actually, since white people do too, you probably couldn't have any whites on the jury either.

[FeliciaCat]

The Slave Trade is still alive and thriving in parts of Africa today..among the locals...why isnt this guy going after them?

[taxcontrol]

Ummmm Folks, hate to tell you this but Slavery is still legal as punishment for crimes.

13th Amendment

SECTION 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

SECTION 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

[taxcontrol]

In theory, it would be possible for Congress to punish someone by sentencing them to slavery and then sell them on the open market. Not that it would be practical or desirable. Just an interesting point of law.

[Michael.SF.]

The suit names: ...the governors of Illinois, Virginia, Louisiana and Texas...

Illinois? Why a non slave state? Also why only three of the slave states?

Just a thought.

[cjshapi]

He forgot Ronald McDonald, the Hamburgler, the Teletubbies, Oscar Meyer and Milton Berle.

Is this crackpot for real?

[Melinator]

Have they no limitation periods on such actions? You cant just wait a hundred years and then sue.

[mhking]

Black conservative ping

If you want on (or off) of my black conservative ping list, please let me know via FREEPmail. (And no, you don't have to be black to be on the list!)

Extra warning: this is a high-volume ping list.

[sauropod]

"If you have a phone, you have a lawyer."

[hchutch]

*Blows whistle*

Failure to use JD! ping list. ;)

[RightOnline]

"Brown brought the suit himself, without the help of a lawyer, and has been working on it for two years,..."

Well, everyone needs a hobby, I suppose.

[WinOne4TheGipper]

What's the punishment for that penalty?;-)

[Thebaddog]

Mayor Daley came out fast for Clinton's apology to the slaves. The black community here is powerful and loopy at the same time. I do think that this will start showing up here in the media. You can be assured of that.

[rintense]

Man, I needed a good laugh today!

[hchutch]

I dunno... but it sure seems to call for that...

Maybe mhking needs to watch Deion Sanders get burned by Tom Waddle on that one pass play in `92 a dozen times or so...

;)

[Kenton]

Maybe he should start with the ones who actually had slaves and work his way down from there. Why should people who never owned slaves pay people who were never slaves?

I agree. If I've got to pay "slave reparations", first I want some damn slaves. Or at least indentured servants.

Oh, BTW, no Blacks please, I'd prefer Scots-Irish.

[Col Freeper]

Reparations have already occurred, and continue to this day. It's called the Liberal Welfare State, initiated by Lyndon Johnson and the socialist/communist democrats.

Been there, still doing that.

[Blast Radius]

I think this lawsuit has legitimacy...... provided the plantiff was a slave owned by one or more of the defendants.

[mrs tiggywinkle]

Hmmm. West African Tribal leaders sold their own people. Isn't he going to sue 'them' too? What a dork.