John Conyers, Jr. pushing for slave reparations, page 1

I think most of us are aware of the slave reparations issue, if not read this first. Well now we have a U.S. representative trying to push through legislation on the issue;

JohnConyers.com

Over 4 million Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United States and its colonies from 1619 to 1865, and as a result, the United States was able to become the most prosperous country in the free world. It is undisputed that African slaves were not compensated for their labor. More unclear however, is what the effects and remnants of this relationship have had on African-Americans and our nation from the time of emancipation through today.

Mr. Conyers has requested the number of the bill, 40, as a symbol of the forty acres and a mule that the United States initially promised freed slaves. This unfulfilled promise and the serious devastation that slavery had on African-American lives has never been officially recognized by the United States Government.

Mr. Conyers legislation does four things: (1) acknowledges the fundamental injustice and inhumanity of slavery; (2) establishes a commission to study slavery and its subsequent racial and economic discrimination against freed slaves; (3) studies the impact of those forces on today's living Africa Americans; and (4) would allow the commission to make recommendations to Congress on appropriate remedies to redress the harm inflicted on living African-Americans.

H.R. 40 has strong grass roots support within the African-American community, as well as major civil rights organizations, religious organizations, and academic and civic groups from across the country. This support is very similar to the strong grassroots movement that proceeded another major legislative initiative, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday bill. It took 15 years for this legislation to pass. It was introduced during the Spring of 1968 and was finally enacted during the Fall of 1983. Throughout most of those 15 years, the idea of a federal holiday honoring an African-American civil rights leader was considered radical.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

I usually try to stay pretty moderate, but this one had me saying "Only a democrat would..." (you know the rest :lol

But honestly folks, how can anyone say this is a good idea? After it adjusted for inflation, this country would be even more bankrupt than it already is. Grant this bill doesn't actually award anything to anyone, but it opens the door just a bit, so someone so inclined (NAACP, Jesse Jackson?) could have a foothold to start litigation on the subject.

Slavery is a horrible injustice and arguably the worst thing this country has ever been involved in, but how many alive today have ever been owned by another. Yes, you can theorize that blacks today are still slaves in one sense or another (I'm white I agree that many blacks are still getting dealt a crappy hand), but that not what we are talking about. We are talking about a man being another’s property. That is the issue. Anyone who is out there alive that was a slave can step up and you deserve reparations. If your daddy was a slave or your grandfather, I don't think so. It's awful that it happened, but I don't want be punished (higher taxes) for something I was not involved in.

I suggest anyone who wants to debate this issue read about "SPECIAL FIELD ORDERS, No. 15". This is commonly referred to by the phrase "40 acres and a mule". (It's the same link I provided at the beginning of this post.)