Ari Merretazon's Blog

Obama, change, reparations, will make America better

Ari — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:44:48 EST

If you missed it last year, word on the street has it that when U.S. Senator Barack Obama is elected as President of the United States a reparations accord for Blacks in America will be reached under the collaboration of U.S. Congressman John Conyers (D. Mich) and the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’CORBA). Yes we can! Here is why I believe this. African chattel enslavement will be accepted at the highest level of government as crimes against humanity, in another word a holocaust. I use this word as Dr. Mualana Karenga, the founder of Kwanzaa, defines it: “a morally monstrous act of genocide that is not only against the people themselves, but also a crime against humanity.” Dr. Karenga says the holocaust of enslavement expresses itself in the three basic ways: “the morally monstrous destruction of human life, human culture and human possibility.” If the reader of this commentary is still under the delusion that the enslavement process of Blacks was long, long ago, and that Blacks deal with it, should get over it, , and move on, you should consider the math which Ezrah Aharone presents in his book Pawned Sovereignty. He uses America’s official version of history that enslavement of Africans in America began in 1619 and was abolished in 1865. This means that to the year, “Blacks spent 246 years in captivity. Since it is now 2008, blacks have been so-called “free” for only 143 years.” This means that 100 years of so-called “freedom” (1865-1965) were spent self-healing and self-repairing the damage wrought by chattel enslavement. Even today, Blacks in America, as a group, are still impacted by the vestiges of chattel slavery and are still seeking recognition as equal humans.

Obama, change, reparations, will make America better

Ari — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:44:48 EST