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Madison Weaver
Submitted to Jamie McBeth-Smith
English 1010-66
November 29, 2015
The Question of Reparations
Race is a hot topic in the US right now. With the threat of ISIS hanging over our heads,
and Syrian refugees being denied refuge, many Americans are discussing issues of race.
Although the issues in the headlines are ISIS and refugees for now, America has many other race
issues to confront before peace can be achieved. The issue of reparations might not be the cover
story during these times, but it is one that underlies all of the other race relation issues, and is
perhaps one of the most important to Americas future. The fight for reparation began
immediately after the Civil War, when Reconstruction was sweeping through the South. Newly
emancipated slaves were demanding that the old plantations be divided out and given to the
former slaves. This fight didnt stop there, though. It has made reappearances throughout the
history of the US, sometimes as civil rights movements, and other times as outright demands for
repayment. All of this leads to many difficult questions. Should I be held responsible for what
my ancestors did? Who decides whos responsible? And, how can you put a price on human
suffering? All of these are hard questions, but the question that it all culminates to is: Are the
descendants of victims of colonialism, namely former slaves, entitled to reparations? The most
obvious answers to this question would appear to be a simple yes or no, but there is much
more depth to it than that.
Some believe that we must try to understand the complexity of the issue before we
attempt to pay reparations. For example, Eric Liu, a writer for CNN News and the founder of

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Citizen University, believes that only when we understand the why of the issue can we address
the how of the issue. What he means is that so many people cant comprehend why reparations
need to be paid, why those who suffered deserve retribution. If people cant understand why
reparations are due, then how could we possibly move on to what methods are best? So many
people are still in disbelief about reparations needing to be paid that it would be nearly
impossible to make progress in the actual paying of them.
I agree with Liu in that we must understand the issue before we try to confront it. It is
such a complex issue and it has so many different sides that its only fair that we look at every
angle before we make a decision. You cant expect people to do something when they dont
understand the reasoning behind it, so it would be very beneficial to the reparations movement if
people would focus more on the reasoning before they jump into the methods. Although I
personally agree with this stance, there are some that have a much different view of the issue.
Some claim that reparations have already been paid through civil rights acts and
movements. Americans have made many efforts in the past years to reconcile the terrible
injustices involved with slavery. Pearson and Goodwin point out that Americans have harbored
guilt for many years over the institution of slavery. More than that, Americans have given
African Americans many chances to make up for their horrific past. Pearson and Goodwin use
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as an example, stating that ever since this act was passed, black
Americans have been able to make many a great leap in American society.
Im of two minds about Pearson and Goodwins argument. I agree that many efforts have
been made in order to fix the wrongs of the past, but Im not so sure that that is necessarily
enough. Its great that all of these legislations have been passed, and I do think that it has
benefitted African Americans greatly. But, is that enough? There are still many African

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Americans suffering from economic discrimination. These efforts have gone a long way, but I
dont think theyve gone far enough. Pearson and Goodwin may think that we have finished our
work regarding reparations, but others think there is much more to it than civil rights.
According to some, it is only fair that reparations be paid, considering how greatly
America benefitted economically from the institution of slavery. Slavery generated tons of
money, not only because it was free labor, but also because a huge part of Americas economy
rested on the results of that unpaid work. Though many agree that reparations should be paid,
they often disagree on how to go about the reparations process. In an editorial written by the
Editorial Board at Indiana University, the authors believe that reparations should be paid to
nations, not people. This is because it was nations, not people, which suffered because of slavery.
The authors dont specify who should do the paying, though, as McFadden and Wagner do.
Wagner and McFadden argue that reparations should come in monetary form from taxpayers and
businesses, but they dont state their reasoning behind this. Perhaps it is because those are the
people who benefitted most from slavery.
I do think that reparations need to be paid, but I agree more with the Editorial Board than
I do with McFadden and Wagner. I think reparations should be paid to nations, but its hard to
say who or where they should come from. Should taxpayers and businesses be responsible? Or is
it a government responsibility? Should it fall to individual companies/organizations or should it
be a communal effort? Wagner, Mcfadden, and the Editorial Board arent the only ones who see
this issue from an economic standpoint, but others use the economy to show why reparations
shouldnt be paid.
Some opponents of reparations are worried about the effect retribution could have on the
American and global economy. The vast amounts of cash that some organizations are demanding

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would be enough to destabilize the world economy. For example, the Pan African Reparations
Movement and the Global African Congress have demanded $776 trillion in compensation.
According to Pearson and Goodwin, this sum is more than 70 times Americas annual economic
output. Can these organizations really expect such an outrageous amount? Not only would this
ruin the US economy, but it would offset the economic balance of the world.
Pearson and Goodwin make a compelling argument in my opinion. Although I do think
that African Americans and African nations deserve economic retribution, I think that retribution
on that scale is unfeasible and unreasonable. If payments of such magnitude were to be made, it
would affect the global economy, which would just make things that much worse. Economics are
an interesting topic in the issue of reparations, but others are more concerned with political
aspect of it.
Some believe that the American Dream is the answer to the reparations question. The
American Dream involves protecting democracy, liberty, equality, opportunity, and rights. The
Editorial Board argues that this very ideal is the reason that reparations are due. In other words,
because America was founded on these ideals, and because the victims of slavery were
Americans, they deserve retribution. The refusal to pay reparations would mean denying the
blacks their rights to the American Dream.
I agree wholeheartedly with this argument. It IS part of the American Dream to protect
those ideals, and all Americans have a right to the Dream, even if they werent really considered
American in the days of their oppression. Even if reparations are part of the American Dream,
there are those who think reparations are totally unworkable and unjust (Pearson and
Goodwin).

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Some believe there is no need for reparations simply because the extent of slavery is far
too great to make retribution feasible. Obviously, there are many obstacles to the payment of
retribution, but some of them are fairly large. As Pearson and Goodwin point out, it would be a
very costly and inaccurate process to try to track down all of the victims and/or perpetrators of
slavery. Not only would it require vast amounts of money to attempt family history on such a
large scale, but it would be nearly impossible. Most of the time, little record was kept of slaves,
and even if records were accurate and legible, slaves were often given new names by their
owners. These factors would make it nearly impossible to scrounge up adequate records to start
the reparations process. Another point that Pearson and Goodwin make is that anybody who
directly or indirectly supported the slave trade ought to be made to pay reparations. What they
mean by this is that there was much more to slavery than just slaves and slave owners. There
were hundreds of companies that were also a part of slavery such as slave traders, buyers and
sellers of cotton that was harvested by slaves, and even companies that were remotely associated
like textile companies that made clothes out of cotton bought from plantations. Would we include
all of these companies in the reparations battle as well?
I agree with Pearson and Goodwin in their argument. Slavery was so far-spread that it
would be impossible to track down every victim and oppressor, and that would be too costly in
any case. They also make a good point when they mention the companies that were involved in
slavery; as they suggested, pretty much any company with ties to the 18th century could be held
liable. Overall, it would be too difficult to attempt reparations on this level, so, as the Editorial
Board stated, it would be much more effective to pay reparations to nations. Thus far, economic,
political, and social affects have all been mentioned, but what about the more personal effects?

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Some people are more worried about the psychological effects of the reparations
movement than they are the political, social, or economic. Niger Innis, the national spokesperson
for the Congress of Racial Equality, believes that the push for retribution has become a vehicle to
make white people feel guilty and to make blacks feel victimized. Innis states that all of white
America has come to represent the evils of slavery to the proponents of reparations. What he
means is those who support the payment of reparations have come to see all white Americans as
the epitome of the evils of slavery. Rather than accept the horrors of the past, these people dwell
on the injustices that they blame white people for. Rather than move forward and try to better
their lives, they play the victims. Niger Innis believes that the victims of slavery and segregation
would be better repaid if present-day African Americans would simply utilize the advantages
they have in todays world. Rather than dwell on the injustices of the past, as Innis put it, they
should take great advantage of opportunities that are available to them today. In other words,
rather than fight to be paid back for things that one had no part in, one should appreciate that
they dont live in that world. It is much better to be grateful for what you have than to try to gain
from what others didnt.
I agree with what Innis says, up to a point. I dont think that all blacks feel like victims
and that all whites feel guilty, and I dont think that this was the intent of the reparations
movement, either. I think that both of these were simply results that couldnt be avoided. But, I
do agree that blacks should try to better themselves rather than complain about the past. Though
they do deserve some kind of reparation, I dont think that they should be as adamant about it as
some are. They should appreciate that they no longer live in a world of condoned oppression, and
take advantage of opportunities that they have.

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Reparations is a very hard issue to come to terms with. Black and white Americans alike
are caught up in this question, and it generates a great amount of tension between the races.
Caucasians often feel attacked by the issue of retribution, and African Americans often feel
overlooked or ignored. It all comes back to Lius argument: reparations cannot be feasible until
the need for them is recognized and addressed. So many people dont understand why they
deserve retribution. Its not about them and what they deserve. Its about all of us; its about
coming to terms with the past and figuring out how we can make right the wrongdoings and
ensure that everybody enjoys the same opportunities as everyone else. Its more a matter of
mindset than anything else. Blacks and whites need to stop seeing themselves that way: as blacks
and whites. We are all people. Labeling ourselves and each other only creates a sense of us and
them, which isnt how it should be. In order to make things right, to fix the wrongs of the past,
we need to drop the entitled attitudes that we have towards each other, and learn how to
appreciate and respect our differences. We need to accept that we all have different histories, but
we can all work towards a common future. We need to strive for equality among all human
beings, not just between blacks and whites.