Three Steps to Healing: Repentance, REPARATIONS and Reconciliation

In 2006, I spoke of Reparations as an Expression of Christian Love. But, it is also a Christian duty.

Today marked the commencement of the Episcopal Church's two-day Service of Repentance. (See article here.) Despite a mandate for the service to be held in the National Cathedral in DC, the service has been hidden away in a historic Black church in Philadelphia. As Dr. Harold Lewis noted, the legacy of slavery is a National Problem - not a Black problem. To deny it the gravitas of the Cathedral and our Nation's Capitol is not a good start.

When asked why they did not hold the Service of Repentance in the Nation's Capitol, the excuse was that it would be too expensive to use the Cathedral. In other words, it would be too expensive for the Church to use its own facilities?! Honestly, that smells fishy...I think we know the real reason for avoiding Washington, D.C.

Nevertheless, there is great work being done in certain pockets of the Episcopal Communion. For instance, the Diocese of Mississippi has formed a Committee on Racial Reconciliation that is recording Church History in the State as it relates to the institution of slavery. There is the Diocese of North Carolina that has conducted its own "Truth and Reconciliation Commission." And, there is the Diocese of Maryland with the Commission on Reparations for Slavery - yes, in Maryland.

As I think on what's been said, I begin to understand the way to relate the importance of this theme. There were churches that profited from slavery...churches that owned slaves. There were priests and bishops that owned slaves.

In the Episcopal Church's General Convention Resolution 123A we read:

Resolved, That we express our most profound regret that (a) The Episcopal Church lent the institution of slavery its support and justification based on Scripture, and (b) after slavery was formally abolished, The Episcopal Church continued for at least a century to support de jure and de facto segregation and discrimination...

So, the Episcopal Church has at least acknowledged that it was complicit in the sin of slavery. They have further acknowledged that, that sin has had (and does have) a profound effect upon our society.

This conference took place after the Race and Reconciliation in America Conference that was hosted by former Secretary of Defense Bill Cohen and his wife - actress and playwright - Janet Langhart Cohen. At that conference, it was made clear that "reparations will bring about racial reconciliation." And at this conference, we see the crucial role that repentance plays in all of this.

One White person responded that the discussion was depressing, to which Dr. Lewis said: "the truth sometimes is." A later commentator - also White - reminded us that "gold is refined by fire," and that we must embrace the pain in order to reap the reward.

Reparations is the work of everyone - and it is legitimate (and much needed) work. Reparations should not be a dirty word. It should be a humbling word that helps us to own are faults so that we might truly repent and ultimately reconcile.

So, don't be afraid - Come and Get Your Reparations!

Why Obama Must Win

Many of you know I am hard on Barack Obama. And, I will continue to be - not because I dislike him...I have nothing against him: I've actually met him and think he's a nice guy. My issue is not with him...my issue is with us - Black people.

My criticism is because we cannot afford to simply rubber stamp any candidate - including a Black one. Yet, in the absence of any real choice (any choice that the majority will research) - and being faced with the lesser of two evils, it's a catch twenty-two. Do we elect the Black candidate (lesser) and at least have a Black man? Or, do we vote against the Black candidate (lesser) and prevent America from blaming Black people for the mess that will come, regardless of if it's McCain or Obama?

To achieve reparations requires us to make tough choices that may seem far fetched. But, that's the reality.

Yet - as I say constantly - I am race-first...not anti-anyone. But, I understand that of all Americans - Black Americans have long been furthest from the Cause of Liberty. And, ultimately Liberty is what we want. So, I must think thus: what puts us closer to the path of Liberty?

Honestly, the best thing would have been for Senator Obama to have lost the Democratic Primary. For or goal is to "capitalize on the new American political landscape." The problem is as Brother Malcolm said:

The black man in North America was sickest of all politically. He let the white man divide him into such foolishness as considering himself a black "Democrat," a black "Republican," a black "conservative," or a black "Liberal"...when a ten-million strong black vote bloc could be the deciding balance of power in American politics...

Right now, Blacks are stuck in the Democratic Party. Not because we necessarily agree with their platform, but essentially because that's what we know. We don't challenge either Party on issues of particular concern, specifically to the Black Community. We simply accept their "cookie-cutter policies" hoping that one day 'ole massa will do right by us!

If Obama had lost in the Primary - if Hillary was allowed to steal the election, maybe Black people would have awakened to a new sense of awareness: neither Party has the interests of Black people at heart...neither has a solution. Maybe if he had lost, the stranglehold of the Democratic Pary would have been loosened, and we would have begun to challenge all Parties to speak to our issues. But, he won...so we move forward.

And, still hoping for a political awakening forces me to realize that only an Obama victory even has the potential to fulfill that goal. For, if he were to loose, the only thing we would do is blame racism - specifically Republican racism. This, in turn, would deepen our blind allegiance to the Democratic Party - leading us further down the road to serfdom.

This is why Obama must win. Or, maybe herein lies yet another angle for why he must not? What do you say?

Come and Get Your Reparations!

Black People Waking Up? Or, Stupid? Your thoughts...

What do you say?

Come and Get Your Reparations!

First African Country Receives Reparations for Colonialism

Here's an article reprinted with permission of Mr. Bill Reed:

Under Col. Muammar Gaddafi’s prolonged and persistent pressure for justice, Libya became the first African country to receive apologies and compensation from a former colonial power. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi recently apologized to the North African country for damage Italy inflicted during 40 years of colonial rule and signed an agreement to pay $5 billion as compensation to resolve colonial-era disputes.

Libya’s leader said the settlement opened the door to partnership between the two states. Long a pariah among Western powers, Gaddafi called the treaty “historic” and that it “marked the defeat of colonialism”. Gaddafi said "Tyranny has a price which must be borne by the perpetrators," while Mr. Berlusconi said the deal ended “40 years of misunderstanding”.

Italy was a minor player in European whites’ “Manifest Destiny” of domination over lesser races to shape the world in their image. During their Colonization Period European nations extended their sovereignty over territories beyond their borders by establishment of either settler or exploitation colonies during which indigenous populations were directly ruled, displaced, or exterminated. For almost a century European countries engaged in systems of direct political, economic, and cultural intervention and hegemony over weaker, and almost always non-white, nations. Italy invaded Libya in 1911. It also invaded Ethiopia and occupied Eritrea and Somalia.

When Italy invaded the North African country that borders the Mediterranean, much of the European thinking was that colonialism was legal. Rome and Tripoli Rome have spent years arguing over compensation for the colonial period. But, Gaddafi doggedly pursued reparations and labeled colonialism as “crimes recognized in international law”.

Although the Italian Reparations have numerous self-serving tenets, African leaders are pondering: “Will the move set a precedent?” And, “Whether other former colonial masters will pay reparations for the civil wrongs and human rights abuses they visited on former ‘subjects’”?

Until Italian confession and penance, former colonial powers had refused to acknowledge the legal and moral basis for reparations for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, human rights abuses and other international injustices they committed in Africa. Mr. Berlusconi told Libyan journalists that the $5 billion compensation was a “material and emotional recognition of the mistakes” that Italy had made during colonialism. But, many said say that the deal has much more to do with Italy’s concern about oil and immigrants.

Mr. Berlusconi said he’d pay $200 million for infrastructure projects over the next 25 years, including a coastal highway across Libya from Tunisia to Egypt - to be built by Italian contractors. There will also be a colonial-era mine clearing project. Italy also returned an ancient statue of Venus, the headless “Venus of Cyrene”, taken to Rome during colonial times.

Italy has been swamped by thousands of African migrants trying to reach its shores by boat and Berlusconi wants Gaddafi to crack down on African migrants and Italy is to pay for $500 million of electronic monitors along Libya’s coast as part of the compensation package.

“In this historic document, Italy apologizes for killing, destruction and repression Libyans during the colonial rule,” Col Gaddafi said. Gaddafi has pushed for the United States of Africa for years. Libya is a North African country that borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north and lies between Egypt to the east and Sudan to the southeast, the former Ottoman territory is an area of almost 700,000 square miles, 90 percent of which is desert. Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa by area, and the 17th largest in the world. Oil was discovered in 1958 and has transformed its economy. The capital, Tripoli, is home to 1.7 million of Libya's 5.7 million people.

Now that Libya has been compensated by its former colonial master, who will follow suit? France, a major ex-colonial force in Africa, downplayed the treaty as "strictly an arrangement between Italy and Libya to enhance relations between Libya and the international community, including European".

Proper restitutions will begin when all Europeans acknowledge they benefited from colonialism and that it was a crime against humanity whose consequences are still with us.

If they can do it, so can we. What do you think? Is it possible for other African countries to get their reparations? Is it possible for us? What do you have to say?

Come and Get Your Reparations!

What is Stopping Black Liberation?

I was thinking about this song, and the rallying cry of M1 and Stick. We as a people, have been saying we want freedom...that we are still enslaved. And, I thought of it in light of this:

If freedom is what we want, it is ours for the taking. Let the revolution begin.
-Ron Paul, The Revolution: A Manifesto

This has been the aim of Black Liberation - freedom. And, here's someone stating that - in America - freedom is ours for the taking, if we want it. How could that be?

In the conclusion of his book defining the path to Liberty, Dr. Paul says:

Ours is not a fated existence, for nowhere is our destiny etched in stone. In the final analysis, the last line of defense in support of freedom and the Constitution consists of the people themselves. If the people want to be free, if they want to lift themselves from underneath a state apparatus that threatens their liberties...and spews forth endless propaganda about how indispensable it is and how lost we would all be without it, there is no force that can stop them.

Basically, the theory of this book is that if people return to the Constitution they will find the tools to ensure their Liberty. So, it should be said that if we embrace the Constitution we will fin the tools to ensure Black Liberation...because if we want to be free there's no force that can stop us.

Now, of course some will say I'm naive and that the government stops us, or the system stops us, or racism stops us. But, you know something?

Excuses are tools of incompetence. They build monuments of nothingness and bridges that lead to nowhere. Those who specialize in excuses seldom excel in anything else.

And, as I read Dr. Paul's book I had to face the harsh reality. The statement still remains, "if freedom is what we want, it is ours for the taking."

So, what is stopping Black Liberation? What is preventing Black people from securing Liberty? Could it be that we don't really want freedom? What do you think?

Let the revolution begin. Come and Get Your Reparations!

Why Did We Not Hear About this More?

And, then look how he tries to use Clarence Thomas to validate his argument.


The only problem with O'Reilly is that Clarence Thomas is Black and he felt as though he was being lynched. We have some waking up to do! What do you think of this issue?

People say, "why can't we just move forward? Why can't people just forget?"

Well, this is a classic example of why we can't move forward, and why we can't forget. And, these aren't just the sentiments of a Black man. These sentiments are shared by President Bush.

Did you hear his comments in the first clip? If you didn't pay much attention to them, please listen again. They're very powerful, and I think they have great application to the Jena 6 mess. What do you think?

45 Years Later - A Dream Deferred

I fear that a Black president would be an excuse for some to say, "We've paid our debt," and to avoid the much harder work.


Today we commemorate the 45th Anniversary of the so-called "I Have a Dream" speech. I say "so-called" because the speech was over 2/3 complete before Dr. King starts speaking about a "Dream."

Forty-five years ago, Dr. King mounted the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to demand justice. As he said, he came to "cash a check." Forty-five years ago he said, "when the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to every American was to fall heir.

"This was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation."

Watch and listen to the speech as you read on:


Forty-five years ago, Dr. King did not simply espouse a Dream where "little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little White boys and White girls and walk together as sisters and brothers." Racial reconciliation is the culmination of this Dream. But, in Dr. King's "Dream" this reconciliation cannot happen until this nation rises up to "live out the true meaning of it's creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

You see, Reparations will help us to realize the Dream.

We will not all be created equal until the child born in the ghetto has the same chance to achieve greatness as the child born in the suburbs. We will not all be created equal until a Black person going to a hospital has the same chance of survival as the White person in the same hospital. We will not be created equal until "Black Culture" is part and parcel of American Culture, and not treated as some sort of "sub-culture."

Reparations will help us to realize the Dream.

The dream is not realized simply because a Black man stands as the Democratic Nominee. And, the "fierce urgency of now" is this: the opportunity for us to make progress on overcoming racial disparities is slipping away.

You hear pundits, preachers and politicians alike declaring that this moment marks the "Post-racial" era. They want you to believe that Obama's nomination will open the flood-gates of opportunity for Black people. But, the National Urban League tells a different story.

Take the housing crisis for example. Urban League President Marc Morial states:

In fact, according to 2006 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, more than 50 percent of blacks received subprime loans compared with less than 18 percent of whites.

People will use Senator Obama's nomination (on the Anniversary of the "I Have a Dream" Speech) as a testament to the "progress" that's been made. They will all be proud of the "Color Blind Society." But, United for a Fair Economy states in their "State of the Dream 2008" report:

Because people of color are disproportionately poor, many individuals will be helped by some of the proposals. But the "color-blind" nature of the policies will not have any effect on closing the racial economic gap. In fact, race is conspicuously absent from the Democrats' agenda.

Reparations will help us to realize the Dream. Affirmative Action has failed us. And, Black Presidential candidates are not the solution. Yes, it feels good. But, feeling good "don't pay the bills."

Those who have read the entire text of this "I Have a Dream" speech realize that he's arguing for a form of reparations. Yet, while we compare Senator Obama to Dr. King on this (now doubly) important date in history, we're faced with the fact that Senator Obama is against reparations. He says:

If we have a program, for example, of universal health care, that will disproportionately affect people of color, because they're disproportionately uninsured," Obama said. "If we've got an agenda that says every child in America should get — should be able to go to college, regardless of income, that will disproportionately affect people of color, because it's oftentimes our children who can't afford to go to college.

Yet, United for a Fair Economy says again:

Moving everyone one rung up the ladder won't change the fact that those on the lower rungs are disproportionately people of color.

And, those on the lower rungs will continue to be on the lower rungs...moving the ladder up higher doesn't manifest equality - only a higher standard of inequality.

Tonight, you will hear them speak of racial progress. Yet, as Bill Reed points out:

White households’ average net worth of $468,200 is six times that of black households’ $75,000.   Blacks’ plight is not being represented in political parties’ platforms and if nothing is done to accelerate black progress, it will take blacks 6 years to close the high school graduation gap, 71 years to close the disparities in college graduation and 581 years to close gaps in per-capita income gap and 1,664 years for the one in home ownership. 

If you haven't seen enough, here are some more sites:

• The State of the Dream
• State of the Black Economy
• Center for Urban Research and Learning
  

All of this, and they lull us to sleep by saying that Barack Obama is the realization of Dr. King's Dream.

Now, my problem is not with Obama. This is the mainstream and the media using this situation to their benefit. This is the mainstream using this historic moment as another opportunity to further neutralize the political power of the Black community.

Reparations will help us to realize the Dream.

Forty-five years ago, Dr. King did not speak out simply so that Black men could run for President. Dr. King spoke out demanding equality. So, I say to you today, my friends, that the dream is yet to be achieved. I say that we still have much work to do. I say, go ahead and support Obama if you like. Yet regardless of your choice, to realize the dream we must become vigilant. We must organized if we are to protect ourselves from those who will day that "racism is dead."

In a 2004 questionnaire, Senator Obama told the NAACP, "I fear that reparations would be an excuse for some to say, 'We've paid our debt,' and to avoid the much harder work."

Well, I agree. And, I fear that a Black president would be an excuse for some to say, "We've paid our debt," and to avoid the much harder work." So, let's get to work!

Come and Get Your Reparations!