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."

[Petronski]

things of no importance

I thought it was TONY: Things Of No Yusefulness.

[Petronski]

He named all four states he knows.

[Porterville]

In a more serious note I have just crowned myself King of the World because I like chocolate.

[mtbopfuyn]

They still exist in parts of Africa, but don't tell Jesse

As reparation he should be awarded a one way ticket back to Africa to join his enslaved brothers.

[Publius6961]

Me? I am intruiged on the remainder of the 71 names in the complaint. I would just love to see how those tribal African chiefs who captured and initially sold the slaves spell their names. Same with the Arab traders who initiated the practice.

[G.Mason]

"I thought it was TONY: Things Of No Yusefulness."

It could be, now that you mention it.

Are you sure there isn't two L's in Yusefullness?

[HungarianGypsy]

I would just like to know when the ex-Black Panther was a slave.

[mrustow]

"Slavery was and is an illegal criminal enterprise,"

So, not only is he wrong on the law and the history, but is guilty as well and also of a repetitive, redundant, piling-it-on style, which is truly an illegal, criminal, forbidden enterprise.

[Republicus2001]

hey it's just a money "thang" - gets me fify cent

just like the scammer who lost her winning ticket in the snow! These people remind me of the good fellas of Mulberry Street "clubs" who spend sixteen hour days pulling their hair out just thinking up new ways to steal...if they put half the effort into a real job it'd be much faster and would probably live twice as long!

[Publius6961]

A condition of any reparations payment should be that anyone accepting such payment must agree to repatriate to the African country of their choice, or of their origin, if known.

Sounds perfectly reasonable to me, with the addition of permanently between the words "agree" and "to". Additionally, they must also take with them every known member of his/her family.

[Publius6961]

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

Ummmmmmm... yeah. So is entering this country illegally and working. What's your point?

[Republicus2001]

interesting take on alternative sentencing! almost like George's original idea for Jerry's TV show. The guy had no car insurance and as punishment had to be a butler...

[Guillermo]

In "parts" of Africa?

Slavery exists today in most of the world, friend.

White Western culture was the first and only culture to have outlawed it.

[Sloth]

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

The first 20 months were spent learning to read and write.

[ladyinred]

Blacks wanted and deserved equality. They have it now, and again, they should have. However, the actions of people like this and others set them back several decades in relations with others.

We owe them nothing, these people in the suit owe them nothing. All they do is create animosity where none existed before by demanding these ridiculous things.

[sphinx]

Dude needs to get a life.

I wouldn't know about that, but the dude definitely needs to pay the legal fees of any party compelled to respond to this nonsense.

[Cubs Fan]

Im white but My great great great great great grandfather might have been an indentured servant who can I sue?

[sweetliberty]

I wonder if it ever occurs to these pathetic, perpetual "victims" that many of their ancestors were slaves because they sold THEMSELVES into slavery! You would think they would be thankful for their history because it was the twist of fate that allowed them to be Americans. After slavery was ended in the US, they had the option of returning to their native Africa. Some did. Those who didn't were rewarded with freedom in America. Those that are here now are here as a result of the choices of THEIR ancestors, so if they don't like the choice their ancestors made in their behalf, perhaps that is who they oughtt to be suing, because obviously, every problem anybody has in this country, particularly if you're black, Mexican, queer or atheist, is somebody else's fault.

[N. Theknow]

Makes about as much sense as a member of the KKK suing this guy for a lousy job of picking cotton.

[G.Mason]

"It is in the realm of possibilities that the governor of Illinois will seek to settle with the guy. And there are enough loony aldermen here in Chicago to join the lawsuit. This thing isn't over."

As long as "the governor of Illinois" stays in Illinois, and doesn't come a knocking on my door, it stays in the TONI file.

should they pay these "waste of human skins" anything and call it repatriations, I'll steal it back.