Misplacing the debt

Although the idea of reparations for slavery is not new, it is gaining momentum in this increasingly guilt-ridden and overly-litigious society.\nIn late March, The Associated Press reported a $1 billion lawsuit was filed by slave descendants against several U.S. and British corporations for the profits they made from the slave trade. Brown University is also leading an internal investigation to determine if it profited from slavery and would therefore owe black Americans any sort of compensation. \nArguments for reparations stir the emotions -- particularly to those of us who can legitimately claim or prove we are descendants of slaves. But when one looks closely at the validity or prudence of reparations, they fall well short of convincing.\nU.S. Representative John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., who has introduced a Reparations Study Bill every year since 1989, wrote an essay last year titled "Reparations: An Idea Whose Time Has Come."\nConyers' essay cites many of the injustices the United States and Europe committed against slaves and ex-slaves during and after slavery. He concludes the reparations must be given to the descendants of slaves to "show humanity that crimes against Africans in the form of enslavement ... is an issue of justice that must be made right."\nAlthough many estimates of the money "owed" to black slave descendants range in the trillions of dollars, I argue no amount of money can "make it right" or deliver "justice." There is not enough money to make up for the tragedy that was chattel slavery. What reparations would do, in fact, is serve retribution to the companies, governments and/or families whose long-dead predecessors participated in one of the most sickening crimes against humanity. \nLet us ponder the outcomes if cash reparations were to be paid to black people. Neglecting the disastrous economic ramifications upon those deemed "responsible," the effects on the black community would probably be devastating, as well. Lottery winners, entertainers and athletes of all races show that a sudden windfall of money is no guarantee of happiness or success. Without the education or financial know-how to protect newly-awarded money, much of that money would be wasted. \nThe nightmare situation is many black people previously struggling in debt would re-establish their credit but continue or increase their unwise spending habits. These unfortunate souls would run through their reparations and drive themselves hopelessly into debt to a point from which they, and possibly poor black people as a collective, will never recover -- truly worse off than they were previously.\nFurthermore, as pointed out by public policy expert (and slave descendant) John McWhorter, the idea of reparations emphasizes the "victim" mentality among blacks to think we are "owed" something for the labors and excruciating pains of our ancestors. He asserts "the debt" is fully against the ideals of the Civil Rights movement, which fought to give opportunity for the self-empowerment of black people. \nAs James Brown used to sing, "I don't want nobody/ to give me nothin'/ just open up the door/ I'll get it myself." \nTo open this door, the United States must improve its educational system for all of its students. By the same token, it is imperative students take advantage of the education currently provided. \nChris Rock painfully jokes that a black man often receives more respect from his peers after coming out of jail than he would after receiving a master's degree, recounting an endemic lack of genuine emphasis on education for many black people. The latter is a problem that can be remedied only from within the black community.\nWhen we, as a people, work to improve our own conditions, we will not need to take what was owed to our ancestors to ineffectively supplement our self-image and better our own lives.