By Jesse Jackson — The pandemic and the poisonous rhetoric of Donald Trump have exposed once more the hard work that must be done to bring together an inclusive society. Last week’s murder of eight people in North Georgia, six of them Asian American women, has brought national attention to the increasing violence and hatred suffered by Asian Americans in this country, and to the continuing reality of violence against…
By Tara John, CNN — London (CNN)A highly anticipated report from a commission set up by the UK government to look into racial disparities in the country has been described as a “whitewash” by campaigners after it stated that there is no evidence that the UK is institutionally racist. A short summary of the report, commissioned in the wake of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests last summer, was shared to the…
By Michael Eric Dyson — “B***h better have my money,” the songstress snarls in hypnotic cadence. “Pay me what you owe me.” For many people, Rihanna’s 2015 anthem serves as the soundtrack to the movement for Black reparations. Her tune profanely echoes Martin Luther King, Jr.’s urgent cry to the nation in 1963 in “I Have a Dream,” his most famous oration, addressed to the March on Washington. “We’ve come…
By Bertram Niles — A suburb of Chicago is poised to formally become the first city in the United States to offer reparations to its Black residents. It is an indication that ground may be shifting ever so slightly as America talks a little more animatedly about whether to compensate African Americans for more than 200 years of slavery in the wake of last year’s Black Lives Matter protests. Not…
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson— When word hit that a phony Valentine’s Day card was being circulated among LAPD officers that mocked the slaying of George Floyd, a bevy of LAPD police and city officials expressed outrage. All promised a thorough investigation, and tough punishment of whoever the perpetrator is of the obscene, disgusting, and hate filled card. The indignation from on top is all well and good. However, it begs…
The failure to appreciate Black history leaves our nation incomplete. By Jonathan Holloway— Many of the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 were driven by a belief that they were acting in accord with the principles fashioned at the birth of this country, that their protest embodied America’s long history of patriotic rhetoric about freedom and citizenship. And in this, they are at least partly right: Such rhetoric…
From $500,000 to $785, Maryland Episcopal churches commit to reparations By Adelle M. Banks— (RNS) — A historic Episcopal church in Baltimore has committed to setting aside $100,000 to reparations, an initiative that will contribute to local racial justice causes. Memorial Episcopal Church also pledged to contribute an additional $400,000 for reparations and justice over five years. “Our church has a long history of, unfortunately, supporting racial segregation up until…
By Sam Bojarski— For more than 200 years, Haiti’s independence story has inspired African-Americans, from Frederick Douglas to Langston Hughes and the Rev. Al Sharpton. “The Haitian Revolution is the original Black Lives Matter movement,” Marlene Daut, a University of Virginia African Diaspora Studies professor, said during a virtual forum on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, organized by The Haitian Times and Fonkoze. “This past summer when we saw Black Lives Matter protests, this…
By Teresa Ann Willis— On January 6, 2021, mobs of mostly white Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol building armed with weapons, outrage and what they believed to be the truth about a Donald Trump victory in the November 2020 presidential election. Despite election results that recorded a 306 to 232 electoral college win for Biden, many who backed the president believed, without any evidence to support their beliefs,…
The Electoral College, Republican gerrymandering and the filibuster are all examples of how American democracy is at risk. By Jesse Jackson— The majority does not rule in the United States. The foundation of any democracy — one person, one vote — is mocked by institutionalized impediments that allow the minority to win even when they lose at the ballot box. In this era, even when Democrats win, they lose. And…
By Chris McGreall— In his first few minutes as America’s new president, Joe Biden made a promise so sweeping that it almost seemed to deny history. “We can deliver racial justice,” Biden pledged to his factious nation. It wasn’t a commitment presented in any detail as he moved on to asserting that America would again be the leading force for good in the world, a claim that draws its own…
By Patricia Yosha— Race Matters. At the beginning of 2020, the Social Justice Committee of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Exeter (FUUSE) sponsored two community discussions on racial issues and local racial history. Shortly after, the coronavirus pandemic took over, destroying lives inequitably among Black and brown people. Adding to that pain, police killings of Black people inspired demonstrations of racial reckoning all over the country. As we look…
Here are some quick links to NAARC’s website to help you get involved and stay informed:
• Donate
• What is NAARC?
• What is NAARC’s 10 Point Plan?
• Forums & Conferences
• NAARC News
• Reparations Advocate Sign Up
Also visit the Reparations Resource Center here on ibw21.org →
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
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
© 2021 Institute of the Black World 21st Century.
