Chantel Lynn

Professor Malcolm Campbell

Honors English 1103
29 September 2016

Topic Proposal: Reparations for Slavery

Introduction/Overview
I will be examining the debate over reparations for slavery and analyzing why African
Americans have yet to be acknowledge as an ethnicity that has been and is still being robbed of
its freedoms. This never-ending debate involves ethical, moral, and legal issues that make the
issue much more controversial. While this is true, the complexity of the matter is not grounds for
dismissal, especially since other races such as Jews received restitution for their Holocaust.
After millions of slaves were forced to leave their homes, their peace, and comfort, they were
subjected to horrendous living conditions as they were forced to work on plantations for
generations upon generations. Though the Emancipation Proclamation formally declared their
freedom, the lives of freed slaves barely improved because they still lived in fear of their lives
and many families had no other choice but to continue to live on the land where they labored
endlessly and hopelessly. The problem at hand is that the rightful recipients of the restitution

Commented [1]: This is a solid point

are slaves who are no longer living and the people who would have to give the restitution are
slave owners who are dead. I on the other hand strongly believe that the descendants of slaves
deserve reparations because even though slavery is over, African Americans are still under the
bondage of slavery and suffer institutionalized oppression.
Established in 1619, slavery is an institution that forced over four million Africans to labor
under unimaginable conditions at the expense of their own dignity and lives. After the Civil War,
General William Tecumseh Sherman promised newly freed slaves in South Carolina and
Georgia forty Acres of land and a mule to sustain themselves and their families. Also, the

Commented [2]: after every sentence, I'm like "oh

yeah, she's right!" You do an excellent job of focusing
your topic in this first paragraph and explaining why it is
important.

Freedmans Bureau was created by congress to assist the overwhelming amount of new

Commented [3]: capital C

citizens with adjusting to society. Many people fail to realize that during the Reconstruction
period, free slaves had civil rights for years after slavery. They were able to vote and hold
offices in state governments as well as federal governments. It wasnt until the Ku-Klux-Klan
(KKK) white southerners who were intimidated by their ex slavesthat African Americans

Commented [4]: You're right, no one really discusses

this. I wonder how long it was between the time slaves
were freed to the time the KKK was created. It is weird
to me how the implementation of the Jim Crow laws
caused the whole society to completely back track in
regard to racial relations. It's ridiculous. :(

were subjected to Jim Crow laws and stripped of their rights. After a split election in the

Commented [5]: I don't think you need the apostrophe

here

Electoral College of 1877, Southern Democrats and Northern Republicans made a compromise

Commented [6]: I like the way you word this... it shows

the brutality of the laws

that ended Reconstruction and made Rutherford B. Hayes the Republican president. Following
the end of Reconstruction, Jim Crow Laws were enforced as an attempt to disenfranchise

hands by striking various levels of distress and intimidation into them out of an internal fear of

Commented [7]: I think it would be nice to split this

into two sentences: "...from their rights. KKK
members..."

losing white supremacy. African Americans tried to combat this injustice but in in 1896, the

Commented [8]: Skip this apostrophe

African Americans from their rights, KKK members continued to take the law into their own

Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v Ferguson that blacks and whites should remain separate but
equal as a way to justify the harsh reality of racism.
According to Points of View, there have been many documented attempts of African
Americans advocating for reparations for slavery. After the Civil War freed slaves were
supposed to receive forty acres and a mule but reconstruction was a terrible time period that
made it very difficult for freed slaves to survive let alone thrive. During the peak of the

Commented [9]: I'm glad you pointed out this reality

nineteenth century, African Americans rallied for pension for freed slaves and their children and
many African American organizations tried to lobby congress without much success. Moving on
to the first half of the twentieth century, African Americans were still impoverished and
prevented from having a vote or voice regarding public policy. However, the Civil Rights Act of
1965 supposedly forced the federal government to get rid of segregation but only four years

Commented [10]: I think you could add a little example

of what this act did, or at least attempted to do.

later, in 1969, it seemed as if nothing had changed. James Forman, the head of the Student

Commented [11]: I agree, you should expand on the

Civil Rights Act

Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) initiated a project titled the Black Manifesto. This
project demanded half a billion dollars from churches and synagogues because they played a

major role in slavery. Other Civil Rights groups such as the Black Panther Party and Black
Muslims followed suit but to no avail.
History shows that many ethnic groups have received retribution for being wronged.
During the 1950s, West Germany willingly paid over one billion dollars to Israel to redress the
Jews pain and suffering at the hands of Nazis. In 1980, the Supreme Court declared that the
federal government had to pay eight Sioux Indian tribes $122 million of illegally stealing their
land in 1877. However, the Sioux never took the money, instead they believe a just

Commented [12]: oh wow, I didn't know this!

compensation would be to have their land back. In 1988, the US apologized to the Japanese for
internment and survivors were paid for their lost income or property. Only a decade later, House
Representative, John Conyers --an African American-- proposed a bill for reparation of African
slaves but it was shot down by most of the House; Conyers is still fighting for the bill. This year,

Commented [13]: I wonder what all this bill proposed?

President Obama formally apologized to Japan for the U.S. dropping the Atomic Bomb. The
trend is that the minority group that has undergone discrimination from 1619 to the present day
has yet to receive any form of retribution.
The fight for retribution is still active today, in fact, Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, a law
school graduate filed a lawsuit against companies such as Aetna Insurance, CSX Railroads,
many banks, insurance companies and agencies for their profits from slavery. Unfortunately,
Farmers efforts went unnoticed as the companies refused to pay anything because they didnt
claim any responsibility. In 2004, the federal judge over the case claimed that it is too late for
reparations and the period to have received them would have been in 1865.
According to Points of View, those who are for reparations believe that since the federal
government protected slavery during the first seventy years of the nations existence, the private
companies that profited from slavery should be held accountable. Also, since slaves are dead,
their descendants should get the money from these companies. According to historical and
sociological studies, many of the negative connotations of African Americans are attributed to
slavery and its effectshigh poverty, crime, low education in African American communities.

Commented [14]: This sociological perspective is a

really good thing to have, pointing out the continued
oppression that African Americans experience from
systematic causes could be a good way to really
emphasize the importance of these reparations.

The reparations can be directly paid, used to cover college tuitions, or used to create a federal
board that would give out reparations in the form of loans to individuals that wanted to own a
home or start a business.
Those against reparations for slavery argue that there is no federal document to trace

Commented [15]: ooook, I like that you added this

sentence because I was a little confused on what the
reparations would look like. I understand now, and I
agree with your argument.

slave lineage so it would be hard to give it out. Also, many Africans migrated to the US after
slavery was abolished so some African American ancestors have no connection to slavery.
Others say that you cant compare slave reparations to that of the holocaust and Japanese
Americans. In regards to payment, some claim that government welfare is sufficient reparations
and tax dollars would have to pay for more.
Restitution for slavery is not a matter of whether or not the ancestors of slaves should be
paid, but when. African Americans suffer the repercussions of slavery every day that they walk
out of their homes, or jail cells, or out from under their bridges in the cities where they arent
even allowed to call home.

Initial Inquiry Question(s)

The most common question regarding restitution is whether or not the federal
government or private businesses should even pay restitution to the ancestors of slaves? This is
just a diversion from the issue at hand. Why are people so threatened or opposed to the idea of
restitution for slavery and the series of unfortunate events that followed? The Civil Rights
Movement was people fighting for the rights that they deserve and died for it, which opened up
doors for so many things but African Americans cant get repaid for it? In terms of descendants,
how far down the family tree should be considered?

My Interest in this Topic

I have always been intrigued by the civil rights movements of the past and present and I
would definitely classify myself as a civil rights advocate. My goal is to become the first female

Commented [16]: I think it would be really cool if you

also briefly evaluated the injustices that continue to
happen today like racial biases, or the segregation that
is occurring in some charter schools.

African American Supreme Court Justice and I would work tirelessly to ensure that African
Americans ancestors would not die in vain. As an African American, it pains me to think about
the amount of pain and suffer that my ancestors had to endure that basically built this nation. To
live in a nation that neither accepts this nor loves African Americans is both heartbreaking and
revolting. As an African American student, I am forced to spend my first month of college
grieving and fighting for the justice that slaves were deprived for, that civil rights leaders
marched for, and that African Americans of the twenty-first century die for. I know that there is
nothing that can repay the costs of slavery, but to not even have it considered is disgraceful. I
dont want my children or my grandchildren to have to suffer the hardships that me and my
parents witness and encountered first hand, but by not acknowledging the past, white America
is essentially saying that African Americans do not matter and are not a part of American
history.

Next Steps
Throughout this research project I will be utilizing the Points of View database to develop
a clearer understanding of both arguments. I will also use JSTOR to read and study credible
journals regarding this issues. The New York Times is a reliable source that always has a wide
spectrum of intriguing articles so I am sure that I will be able to find something useful.

Chontel, (lol, I did that on purpose)

I loved reading your topic proposal! I can feel your passion and energy for this topic throughout
your writing. You made some excellent points. There were times when I got a little confused about
something you wrote, but as I read on, your explanation helped me understand.
There are just a few things I would change. For one, I feel like your topic proposal could be
shortened a little. You have tons of great information, so I may some of it for the final EIP rather
than the proposal. But, it is totally up to you. Also, there are some spots where apostrophes can
be taken out, as I commented.
I am interested in reading about your research in your final EIP. In all honesty, I have not
considered reparations for African Americans for slavery. I guess because I am not African
American, it has never crossed my mind. Now that I read your thoughts, it makes total sense to
apologize and compensate for the evil acts white people committed against African Americans

Commented [17]: YGG

Commented [18]: ahhh that's awesome!

decades ago. Youre rightfor all of the terrible and brutal things done to this ethnic group, they
deserve some sort of reconciliation.
I think it is so great that you have dreams of being the first female African American Supreme
Court Justice. I believe in you! Great job on your topic proposal, and I look forward to hearing
your findings later on!!!
Love, Molly

Commented [19]: commentary