Posted on 08/18/2002 5:09:34 AM PDT by H8DEMS
Washington, D.C. (CNSNews.com) - Thousands of blacks rallied in Washington Saturday in support of reparations for past slavery, joining Nation of Islam Leader Minister Louis Farrakhan and shouting "They owe us!"
"We're not asking white people [for reparations]," said Farrakhan, who headlined the 'Millions for Reparations Mass Rally'. "We are demanding what is justly ours."
Farrakhan also urged enlisted military personnel to not fight for the U.S. should an armed strike against Iraq be initiated, and called for the ceding of land to black Americans.
The Nation of Islam minister told the predominantly black, pro-reparations crowd that "reparations is a proper theme around which all black America should and must unite."
Farrakhan believes the U.S. government should issue reparations to black Americans as compensation for past slavery in the United States, saying "our pocketbooks" need repair.
By his account, blacks need "payment for the destruction of our minds; the robbery of our language, our culture, our history, our religion, our God, our self-dignity, and our self-worth."
However, Farrakhan said, "We cannot accept a cash payment because a fool and his money will soon part." Instead, he advocated the transfer of "millions" of acres of land from the U.S. government to African Americans.
Farrakhan explained that blacks live in an America that is a "nation within a nation." The America that blacks inhabit, he said, does not enjoy "true freedom, justice and equality" from white America.
"As a nation within a nation, we need land as a basis of economic and political independence," Farrakhan said. "We cannot settle for some little jive token - we need millions of acres of land that black people can build and use for ourselves."
Farrakhan said his "just demand" for building a black nation on American soil would reward blacks for their service in the United States military.
He concluded his brief 15-minute speech urging blacks, Hispanics and "poor whites" enlisted in the military not to support or fight in any military attack that President Bush may unleash upon Iraq.
"I don't think we need to fight in the white man's army," Farrakhan said. "Our fight is in America against the recalcitrance of white supremacy, and we shall win this fight because it's a just struggle."
Socialist Agrees With Farrakhan on Reparations
"There should be restitution for the crimes of slavery," said John Coursey, a representative of Solidarity, a group that describes itself as a "revolutionary, socialist, democratic, feminist, anti-racist organization." He claimed that much of the inequalities that exist in American society today can be traced back to slavery.
Coursey acknowledges that slavery was outlawed in the U.S. more than a century ago, but laws and segregation continued to oppress blacks well into the 1970s and still do so today.
He believes corporations operating in America today should also pay reparations to blacks for the hardships of their ancestors decades and centuries ago.
"Specifically, I think the money should come from corporations that have built their power today from exploiting and oppressing black people," Coursey said. "Look at the people that have wealth who have actually exploited slavery and benefited from it."
Coursey said a reparations payout to blacks would act to balance America's "widely unequal" distribution of wealth.
Green Party Rep Compares Slavery to Holocaust
"If Germany could apologize for its crimes against gypsies and the Jews, why can't this country begin to do some apology and soul searching about what it's done to the American Indians and black people," asked David Barrows, a protestor representing the D.C. Statehood Green Party.
Slavery reparations are an official policy of the Green Party nationwide and the D.C. Statehood Green Party, Barrows said.
Barrows believes that compensating blacks is a great opportunity for the U.S. government to make a "clean break" from its oppressive past. "Reparations is a good start," he said.
"The country has to say, 'We committed crimes against humanity against a major part of our people, and we do not want to be a part of this exploitation,'" Barrows said.
I was asian when people were taking sledge hammers to jap cars, I was a chinese kid right after the Korean war, I studied physics when the anti nuke hysteria was about, I was republican in college in the 60's. I've been just about every unpopular thing possible and I've heard just about every insult possible. But I never have let anyone rob me of my independent free thinking mind, my religion, my self-dignity, or my self-worth. Anyone who does that deserves to be on the bottom of the socio economic pile. There is no case for reparations. The whites could have done better, but if these loser nutcases get their way, I will move to a different country.
added to: we need millions of acres of land that black people can build and use for ourselves."
Sounds like condemning segregation on one hand while advocating it on the other.
But I guess logic isn't a factor here
Throughout human history, there has been slavory. Every single race, tribe and nationality on this planet has been enslaved at some point by another. Conversely, every race, tribe and nationality on this planet has been the enslaver.
Therefore, using only the arguments of the reparations crowd, every single human being in this planet owes every single human being on this planet reparations.
The case for reparations is therefore null and void.
Also, there is no WAY we in the United States are going to let Farrakhan set up an independent MUSLIM STATE here in the US, as a base from which to launch terrorist attackes by his "freedom fighters." Not for ANY reason. No way. No how.
Wow. I commend your courage and obvious strength of character. THAT was a lonely road to travel.
Well, now, it might be easier if they were all collected in one nice convenient place, rather than having to hunt them all down house-to-house. Maybe there IS something to support here after all! ;^)
Republicans should start a very quiet negotiation process with the leaders of the reparations movement, insisting on confidentiality. The Democrat leadership will soon hear, and run get in the game and make it known that they initiated it.
As soon as they express enough unity, echo enough pro-reparations statements (and take enough line), we back out and set the hook by highlighting all these stupid statements and linking as many Democrats to them as possible. The media, Hollywood and academia will of course be on their side, but we could take them all head on, point by point, with regard to the law, morality, history, economy, and effects on society. Hey, we could level them with just emotion. We could set the Democrats back 10 years if they take the bait and if we stay focused and resolved with our arguments.
I wish we were that smart and that organized.
Thanks for the compliment, but I'm not that tough. If you want tough, just look to the early Christians. Just a little white lie here or there and keeping your beliefs in the closet would have saved them a great deal of persecution. Those were people who refused to have their mind, religion, self worth, etc. stolen. My travails have been nothing in comparison.
That will never, ever happen. It is because the people who run our media are Marxist to the core. I go out of my way to avoid any information presented by the media, because I know that the message is going to be viewed through a Bolshevik lens. Notice how many movies have been made about the gulags and the kulaks? Did you say "none"? Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!
He wants collectively owned land for a black Islamist nation within America. BLOAT
Four acres and a fool.
This is covered in Thomas Chittum's book, Civil War Two
Anyway, wow! What an idea! Simply darken your skin, claim to be black, and then go for all of the affirmative action benefits! You are a genius!
In all seriousness, if I were young and starting out in life, I would have to give this idea some very serious consideration. Talk about a way to give yourself a major advantage over everybody else! Man! What an idea!
Ditto!
When I moved to Alabama and applied for my drivers license I left the 'race' category blank. When I got to the head of the line the black clerk asked me my race, I said "Negro", she looked into my bright blue eyes and said, "you're not black" and checked the 'white' category and directed me to another line.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.