By George Yancy — Even if the movement for reparations someday transforms the profound economic disparities that fall along racial lines in this country — addressing income disparities, the wealth gap, housing and health care inequities, and unemployment disparities — a fundamental problem of anti-Black racism still won’t be solved. What remains is a fundamentally ontological problem: the reality of the being of whiteness, and its denial of Black humanity within white racist America….
By Kay Whitlock — White supremacist violence in the U.S. elicits the most outspoken public condemnation when it erupts overtly, amid a flurry of Confederate flags and the swaggering display of racist/white nationalist/neo-Nazi symbols and assault rifles. Demands for intensified policing, prosecution, harsher punishments, and more anti-terrorism measures proliferate. Who doesn’t want to retaliate, hit back hard at power-hungry, violent racists? The desire to “not let them get away with…
By Anthony Quinones— Many historically marginalized groups have the ability to address the atrocities done to them. For example, Jewish people are still talking about the Holocaust. The Nazis killed millions of Jews from 1941-1945. Nobody should ever forget that. All races, ethnicities, and cultures should remember their past to avoid a repeat of the horrible events. All groups have this ability–except Black people. The deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd,…
By The Unitimes Reporter— Twice during last year’s American presidential election campaign, the US president attacked Critical Race Theory (CRT). The first time, on Constitution Day in September, Donald Trump called the critical school that developed from Critical Legal Theory in the late 1980s “ideological poison” because it foregrounded the racial aspects of American history in the school curriculum. The 1619 Project developed by scholars and the New York Times was “radical”,…
The Minnesota Council of Churches, leveraging its 25 denominations with more than 1 million members, prioritizes path to “truth and reparation.” By Jean Hopfensperger— A St. Louis Park congregation devoted two years to exploring white supremacy, and now it is raising $1 million for a child care center for low-income families. In Bemidji, some faith leaders are participating in “listening posts” often led by Native Americans who share experiences of…
By Elle Kehres, Chapelboro — At their town council meeting last week, Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle and Council Member Barbara Foushee presented a reparations resolution for the council to approve. 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck spoke with Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle about the legacy of slavery nationally, and how the town of Carrboro is working to change the course of history locally. “Essentially, it starts out explaining and acknowledging how…
The legacy of slavery is far from resolved. It persists every day and everywhere. By David Gardinier and Karen Hilfman, The Boston Globe — Since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis by a white police officer, and the resounding anti-racist uprisings around the world, the concept of reparations has picked up momentum in national conversations and has sparked new public curiosity and interest. Among Black people and their ancestors,…
In principle, white Americans support efforts to end racism. But in practice, they have long been unwilling to support the fundamental change needed to do that. Will this year’s events change that? By Candis Watts Smith — The first wave of the Black Lives Matter movement, which crested after the 2014 police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, had the support of less than half of white Americans. Given that Americans tend…
The Quran recognizes ‘no superiority of a white person over a black person.’ That notion, radical in 7th-century Arab society of slavery and tribal divides – remains unrealized 1,400 years later. By Asma Afsaruddin — One day, in Mecca, the Prophet Muhammad dropped a bombshell on his followers: He told them that all people are created equal. “All humans are descended from Adam and Eve,” said Muhammad in his last known…
By Robert Hornak, The Schpiel — In recent days many people whose politics lean center-right have been trying to give “the facts” on racism in America. This completely misses the point and is nothing more than a distraction from the need to address a real and very serious problem and from the larger conversation we need to have on race relations in America. Republicans should immediately please stop. And listen….
By Bashir Muhammad Akinyele — “The making of amends for a wrong one has done, by paying money to or otherwise helping those who have been wronged.” (American dictionary on the definition of the word reparations) “if you stick a knife in my back nine inches, taking a knife out my back six inches is not progress. Progress is healing the wound the knife made is progress. Sometimes you even…
By David Comissiong — The peculiar race-based history of the Western Hemisphere has bequeathed to all the people and nations of our region of the “Caribbean and the Americas” the central mission of eradicating the scourge of anti-Black racism and developing societies in which the inherent dignity and worth of the black person is upheld and respected. The people of the Caribbean region recognize therefore that the struggle against anti-Black…
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Also visit the Reparations Resource Center here on ibw21.org →
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The Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW21) is committed to enhancing the capacity of Black communities in the U.S. and globally to achieve cultural, social, economic and political equality and an enhanced quality of life for all marginalized people. – Learn more here
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