The repercussions of slavery continue to be felt by blacks today, in the form of unequal education, economic stagnation and crime, and reparations from the United States government are due, said author and human-rights activist Randall Robinson in a speech yesterday at the Fawcett Center.
“I’m not talking about cash payments to you, I’m talking about that portion of our community that is bottom-stuck,” Robinson said.
With reparations, African-American youth crushed by drugs and gun violence will have a chance to help themselves before their lives are unsalvageable, Robinson said.
Reparations are necessary, argued Robinson, because the United States became one of the wealthiest nations in the world through the work of millions who were never compensated, and left blacks economically disadvantaged.
“We’ve got this gap in this country, the wealth gap,” Robinson said. “How did it originate, where did it come from? We can only be behind for one of two reasons. Either we are innately inferior or something happend – slavery happened.”
Randall Robinson, human-rights lobbyist and author of “The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks” spoke to about 80 people at the Fawcett center, answering questions and explaining an upcoming lawsuit being leveled against the U.S. government by the Reparations Assessment Group, a team of lawyers and activists including Johnnie Cochran and Harvard law professor Charles Ogletree.
Robinson couldn’t comment on the exact amount being sought in the lawsuit, saying “it’s best not to let the cat out of the bag until you’re ready to file the suit.”
Robinson made the point individuals are not being punished for the crimes of their ancestors.
“Nobody is saying anyone alive is culpable. That is not the issue,” Robinson said. “When a government commits a crime, there is no statute of limitations on that crime.”
Robinson also argued educational reforms would be sought instead of a cash payment to individuals. He suggested free education from kindergarten to graduate school for at least four generations to erase the disadvantages that blacks suffer in education and economic opportunities. He cites impoverished areas, mostly populated by blacks, like parts of Washington, D.C. and the vast differences between public school in those places and private schools.
“For many of these children, the struggle for life is over before they even reach school,” Robinson said. “That child knows she is behind. It is our duty to let her know why it’s not anything because of her.”
Robinson admits the fight for reparations will be hard without public support from both blacks and whites. One of the challenges facing the lawsuit is the fact the U.S. government cannot be sued, unless it allows itself to be. This is a major obstacle in any lawsuit.
“To do anything that requires this amount of social change will require a groundswell of public support,” Robinson said. “It cannot happen if whites see this as a black issue and blacks see this as a black issue. It’s an American issue.”
One member of the audience expressed concern about the current political climate and the chances for reparations.
“I’m not concerned about the climate,” Robinson replied. “You can do your part and work hard, but you always needed someone on the other side to do something massively stupid. In fact, I think we have the right president at the right time.”
Randall Robinson is president of TransAfrica Forum, which is an organization influencing U.S. policies in Africa and the Caribbean through the education of the American public about those countries. He played a key role in the Free South Africa Movement and went on a 27-day hunger strike to protest US policy toward Haiti.
The event was part of a day-long series of events sponsored by the Office of Minority Affairs, the Urban Business Professional Association, Iota Phi Theta Fraternity and the Columbus Chapter of the Links Inc.
