Slavery Reparations Should Not Be Our Focus at This Point
Slavery Reparations
Over the years there have been multitudinous discussions surrounding the idea of reparations for African Americans based on the atrocities associated with slavery. While some have postulated that the idea of reparations is inextricably connected to the promise of 40 acres, a mule and $100 in cash, I propose that if no promise was made, there should still be a discussion concerning reparations, solely based on the magnitude of the damage that was levied against African Americans during and after slavery.
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When it comes to making an argument for reparations, I believe that the greatest advocate and spokesperson for the African American population is Dr. Claud Anderson. As a person who considers himself a student of Dr. Anderson, I absolutely agree with the assertion that blacks should be compensated for the execrable treatment that our ancestors suffered at the hands of the Europeans who settled this land. However, I am concerned that in the current state of mind of the black collective, receiving what has been estimated as at least $14 trillion (Main, 2015) at this very moment could prove to be more nocuous than beneficial.
40 Acres and a Mule
Before getting into why I believe that there must be progress in the collective mindset toward money, economics and wealth within the black community before receiving reparations, let’s take a quick look at the concept of “40 acres and a mule” to determine where it comes from.
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There are a number of different versions of the story that explains how the concept of 40 acres and a mule emerged; however, in simple, 40 acres and a mule refers to a concept within this country that is focused on agrarian reform, which would have been more applicable during the time that the concept initialized. While the most apparent result of the Civil War was the release of African American slaves, the underlying dynamic was far more complicated. The war had taken its toll on the Southern economic infrastructure, which was heavily dependent upon farming and agriculture, and it is very important to develop a perspicacious idea of this truth in order to understand how this concept emerged in the first place.
Because the war devastated the southern economic infrastructure, something had to be done by the Union to preserve the economic fluidity of the south, so, former slaves were promised 40 acres and a mule by a number of different political figures, including General William Sherman, through his Field Order No. 15. At the time that these orders were issued, it was not for the sake of compensating slaves for the suffering they had endured, but to entice them to participate in the War that would lead to their liberation, and to ensure that there would be people to work the lands once the war was over. This was exclusively a political move to benefit the U.S. and not the former slaves.
Secondly, what must be understood is that all promises to former slaves through Sherman’s Special Field Orders, No. 15 and the Freedman’s Bureau Act were rescinded by President Andrew Jackson, which launched a series of occurrences in which the U.S. government would renege on their promise to the African American. Because the former slaves never received their 40 acres and a mule, they were forced to form the land of white land owners as sharecroppers, which only served to place them in a new form of slavery — debt.
How Would Reparations Impact Us Now?
While many African Americans become excited about the idea of reparations, I don’t believe that it would be the great gift that many believe that it would be. According to a recent Nielsen Study (Editors, 2013), African Americans have $1.1 trillion in spending power, and we are projected to reach $1.3 trillion within the next year. Yet, with this spending power, and our increase in earnings, we only own one half of one percent of this nation’s aggregate wealth, which is the exact same percentage of the aggregate wealth of this nation we owned in 1860 on the eve of the Civil War (Anderson, 1994; Anderson, 2001). While there are definitely a number of mechanisms within the economic power structure of this country that contributes to this mal-distribution of wealth, the proclivity and insistence of Blacks to participate in the economy exclusively as consumers has not helped.
As long as African Americans are comfortable with spending 98 percent of their discretionary income outside of our social economy, it does not matter how much money we have access to, because we will continue to pour it back into the economies of those who oppose our progression, which is tantamount to financing our own demise.
Why do you think that Nielsen published this report? It is definitely not to inform African Americans of their spending power; it is to inform businesses of the money that is available in the black community, so that they can make their financial projections for the next several years, while developing marketing strategies to target the black consumer.
Until we develop a mindset that emphasizes Black group economics, we will continue to struggle as a race. Practicing group economics will provide the economic foundation and power to underwrite our own elevation and advancement, and it will also provide the leverage through which we can demand reparations from a position of power, rather than from the floor of need and desperation. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace, Ph.D.
Over the past 20 years, Dr. Wallace has invested more than 45,000 hours of research into understanding the scientific implications of white supremacy and how they have directly impacted African Americans in all nine areas of human activity, which include economics, education, entertainment, labor, law, politics, religion, sex and war. He has spent a substantial amount of time attempting to answer the question of why blacks seem incapable of overcoming the barrier of racism despite the fact that the solution has been placed before them.
The preponderance of the evidence that Dr. Wallace has examined has provided him with a lucid perspicacity of the complex dynamic at play — a dynamic that includes psychological, sociological, economic and political oppression that is executed through multitudinous pernicious machinations. He has used this information to develop what he calls The Black Community Empowerment Blueprint 1.0. This blueprint is a comprehensive strategy that addresses every area of concern for the black collective in great detail. Dr. Wallace has also disseminated his findings in a number of literary works, including his latest book, The Mis-education of Black Youth in America.
Currently, Dr. Wallace is moving into the second phase of his research, transitioning from inductive research to deductive research for the purpose of advancing and introducing certain scientific theories associated with the African American experience. To this date, Dr. Wallace’s research has proven to be immensely valuable, as he develops social programs to counter external influences, lectures to African Americans across the nation and develops a comprehensive blueprint capable of facilitating the complete elevation and empowerment of African Americans, as well as the complete diaspora in time, but the cost of research can be quite exorbitant, especially when he is investing between 55-85 hours per week.
To this point, all funding has been covered by Dr. Wallace himself. He is currently seeking research funding, but due to the specific focus of his research, traditional channels, such as government, academic and private grants are not an option. While he currently has a couple interested sponsors, both of them are non-blacks, which speaks volumes. While Dr. Wallace has committed to proceeding at all cost, the support of the community and people he is fighting for will prove highly beneficial in multitudinous ways.