Does ONE "Day of Repentance" Balance 400 Years of Slavery?

They may not like me for this...

Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori, and others in the Episcopal Church said they hoped I would continue posting about the "Service of Repentance" held on October 4, 2008. I haven't written much, and debated if I ever would. Yet looking at the commemorative pen given at the event, I couldn't refrain from writing this.

The pen says: "Day of Repentance." And, how true that is! And, that's not just my frustration. It's one shared by many, including Dr. Ed Rodman.

Upon reading the pen, I found myself asking: "Does ONE "Day of Repentance" balance 400 years of slavery?"

There has been little to no follow up from the National Church on this "initiative." Yet as she hid her sins for countless years, she hid her sins on that day by repenting in private - rather than out in the open. It seems that the hiding of sins continues, as the Church has done nothing since to make this initiative more than perfunctory.

As I've said before, there are "Three Steps to Healing: Repentance, Reparations & Reconciliation." Yet, if you stop at step one is that gesture really sincere? Or, was it some way to simply appease the "White Guilt" that holds the majority captive?

Does ONE "Day of Repentance" balance 400 years of slavery?

In "God's Long Summer," Charles Marsh states:

Christian love must shape concrete solutions and new visions for the disenfranchised and the poor.

The Episcopal Church - by her own admission - did its share of disfranchising Black people, while supporting and condoning and profiting from the Institution of Slavery. So, how can she feel it enough to throw out an "I'm sorry," while hoarding the gains of her pillage?

The Episcopal Church - again, by her own admission - helped set Black people at a disadvantage. Even her own Black priests were/are set at a disadvantage. How can she then do nothing to bring about true healing?

I've been waiting to see if something more was coming...some committment to building private schools in Black communities, some efforts to bring parity to the pensions of White and Black priests, some committment to calling the Nation to conscience on the racial disparities that still plague our society...some sort of sign that the somber attitude of the actual service had manifested in a change in attitude post-service. I have seen none and so I wonder:

Does ONE "Day of Repentance" balance 400 years of slavery?

I think there's more that should be done. If this is supposed to be ONE church, it seems to me efforts should be made to making it whole. It would seem that, that is what "Christian love" would require?

Come and Get Your Reparations!

Congress Determines Only White Women Need Paycheck Fairness!

Tomorrow, Congress will vote on a so-called "Paycheck Fairness Act."  The Bill is supposed to address disparities in pay.  However, the Bill only refers to gender disparity.  When I called Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro's (D-CT-3) office, I asked if I was misreading the Bill or if it only addressed gender disparities.  The lady responsible for the Paycheck Fairness Act stated that it - in fact - dealt only with gender disparities, but that in doing so it would cover Black, Latino and Asian women.

Hunh?!  How so?  Must be that Congress has determined that only White women need paycheck fairness!

Reparations means that we refuse to believe the hype!  Look at this chart detailing pay disparities.

The Wage Gap, by Gender and Race

(median annual earnings of black men and women, Hispanic men and women, and white women as a percentage of white men's median annual earnings)

Year	White men	Black men	Hispanic men	White women	Black women	Hispanic women
1970	100%	69.0%	n.a.	58.7%	48.2%	n.a.
1975	100	74.3	72.1%	57.5	55.4	49.3%
1980	100	70.7	70.8	58.9	55.7	50.5
1985	100	69.7	68.0	63.0	57.1	52.1
1990	100	73.1	66.3	69.4	62.5	54.3
1992	100	72.6	63.3	70.0	64.0	55.4
1994	100	75.1	64.3	71.6	63.0	55.6
1995	100	75.9	63.3	71.2	64.2	53.4
1996	100	80.0	63.9	73.3	65.1	56.6
1997	100	75.1	61.4	71.9	62.6	53.9
1998	100	74.9	61.6	72.6	62.6	53.1
1999	100	80.6	61.6	71.6	65.0	52.1
2000	100	78.2	63.4	72.2	64.6	52.8
2003	100	78.2	63.3	75.6	65.4	54.3
2004	100	74.5	63.2	76.7	68.4	56.9
2006	100	72.1	57.5	73.5	63.6	51.7

Source: U.S. Current Population Survey and the National Committee on Pay Equity.

Clearly, Black men are earning less than White women.  And, Black women are earning substantially less than White women.  Surely, the Paycheck Fairness Act will do nothing for Black men - as Rep. Rosa DeLauro's office told me.  But, how will the Paycheck Fairness Act really help Black women?

Maybe I'm stupid (some will surely say I am).  But, it seems to me that the most this act would do is raise the pay of Black women to equity with Black men.  Truly that is a start.  But then once White women are on par with White men, we'd be left with the racial pay gap.  Am I missing something?

Must be that Congress has determined that only White women need paycheck fairness!

People want to say that reparations isn't needed.  But, here is a clear example - and this is not Affirmative Action.  It is not a handout.  It is fairness.  When Congress looks at the pay disparity between the genders they agree that something must be urgently done.  Yet, either they have not even looked at the pay disparity between the races or they don't think that something must be urgently done.  Again, as I was told by Rep. Rosa DeLauro's staffer: it (racial pay gap) is an important issue, but it is not dealt with by the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Presently, I'm waiting on Congressional Black Caucus Executive Director Patrice Willoughby to respond to my question about why the Congressional Black Caucus chose not to address this oversight.  Or, do they agree that only White women need paycheck fairness?

Email the Congressional Black Caucus, or call: 202.226.9776 and let them know that you want them to call for the Paycheck Fairness Act to be amended to include racial disparities!  Unless you agree that only White women need paycheck fairness...

Come and get your reparations!