March 20, 2019

Where do Democrats stand on slavery reparations?

located:	USA
editor:	Yair Oded

Since the devastating outcome of the 2016 presidential elections, it has become crystal clear that tepid centrist rhetoric will no longer suffice to rile up the American public behind political candidates. The fall of the Clinton Dynasty and the conquest of the Republican Party (and the White House) by an eccentric reality-TV star have signalled to Democrats that if they want to reclaim their spot at the helm, they must run bolder and braver campaigns.

Indeed, virtually all of the many (many!) Democrats who announced their presidential bid so far have made bombastic policy proposals, such as instituting a single-payer healthcare system and abolishing of the electoral college – ideas that in the not-so-distant past would have been deemed unspeakably controversial.

One of the proposals that have gained the most attention, however, came from Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who openly supported the prospect of granting reparations to descendants of slaves.

Not since 1988 – when Jesse Jackson clamoured for reparations throughout his presidential campaign – had the issue occupied such solid place in a candidate’s platform. During a CNN town hall on Monday, Warren stated that she supports a resurrected 1991 bill, which calls for the formation of a commission that would study slavery and come up with reparations proposals. “I believe it's time to start the national full-blown conversation about reparations in this country”, said Warren at the town hall, “and that means I support the bill in the House to appoint a congressional panel of experts, people that are studying this and talk about different ways we may be able to do it and make a report back to Congress, so that we can as a nation do what's right and begin to heal.”

Reparations have been used thus far in various places around the world to try and compensate victims of adverse policies and systemic violence. Holocaust survivors, for instance, are eligible for a monthly stipend from the German government due to the horrors they suffered at the hands of the Nazis. In the U.S., too, reparations have been utilised in various forms historically. One example was the reparations paid to Japanese-Americans following their internment during World War II. Yet, in both of these instances, the recipients of reparations were those directly harmed by oppression.

Granting reparations to African American descendants of slaves would be considerably more complex: determining who is eligible and in what form reparations will be paid (money, land, etc.). Such an endeavour would require digging into historical records which are hard to procure or, in some cases, are nonexistent.

Democrats have expressed various opinions regarding reparations. Some, such as former president Barack Obama, have dismissed the notion as impractical and infeasible. Others, such as Senators Kamala Harris of California, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Bernie Sanders of Vermont propose increased government spending on marginalised communities in the form of reparations.

In an interview for NPR, Sanders states that he would not support reparations "if it means just a cash payment or a check to families." Adding, "I am sympathetic to an idea brought forth by Congressman Jim Clyburn… and he has what he calls a 10-20-30 plan, [...] which says that 10 percent of federal resources should go to communities that have had 20 percent levels of poverty for 30 years. In other words, the most distressed communities in America."

Critics of Sanders’ approach argue that the mere reallocation of federal funds to certain marginalised communities fails to tackle the issue at its core and make a genuine effort to atone for the grievance caused by centuries of slavery – a practice that had robbed African Americans of their humanity and dignity, and has left them at a point of socio-economic disadvantage until this very day.  

It remains to be seen whether the prospect of reparations will come to fruition or be buried in the cemetery of lost campaign promises. It should be noted, however, that while granting reparations to African Americans may be a highly complex task, it is certainly not impossible. Undoubtedly, the government of the wealthiest nation in the world could devise a practical and affordable plan to repay the descendants of those it enslaved.

It is possible, then, that what lies behind the visceral objection to the idea of reparations is the collective fear of Americans to truly confront the spectre of slavery and the country’s sordid past. Serious deliberation on the issue of reparations would necessitate a full admission that the atrocities of slavery deserve further introspection, and cannot be dismissed as ancient history – especially since their adverse effects are still so palpably felt.