Queen
Mother Audley Moore was an indefatigable teacher, advocate and
organizer for Reparations, the fundamental idea that Africans in America
are due compensation to repair the physical, cultural, spiritual and
mental damages inflicted by the holocaust of enslavement. She called
herself a “brain surgeon” dedicated to operating on the minds of
constipated “Negroes” to create a consciousness of the urgent need for
Reparations. I was a patient of this great “surgeon.” Queen Mother Moore
introduced me to the concept of Reparations and became my mentor on
this issue. As the Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW)
prepares to convene a potentially historic National/International
Summit, April 9-12, in New York, I believe our “warrior woman” ancestor
is looking down with pride and
enthusiasm as reparations advocates from the U.S. and the Pan African
world gather to galvanize and intensify the global Reparations Movement.
Reparations
to repair the damages of enslavement has been a persistent demand
within the multifaceted Black Freedom Struggle in the U.S. The movement
ebbs and flows, being intense at certain moments in our history and
subdued at others. Despite the fact that there is a “State of Emergency”
in America’s “dark ghettos,” the pride associated with the election of
the first African American President has not made this the most fertile
period for the Reparations Movement.However, two events have potentially
provided the impetus for a new moment of intense interest and advocacy
for reparations in the months and years ahead.
First,
as I have written recently, the courageous decision by the heads of
state of nations in the Caribbean to demand reparations from the former
European colonialists for Native Genocide and African enslavement and
the formation of a CARICOM Reparations Commission has captured the
imagination of reparations activists in the U.S. and the Pan African
world. It is one thing for scholars and activists to advocate for
reparations, it is quite another for the leaders of nations who are
still in the neo-colonial clutches of the former colonial powers to make
such a bold demand. By doing so, they risk economic and political
retaliation. No doubt the dismal conditions of the masses of their
people and the pressure from civil society organizations influenced
their decision, but there is no belittling the fact that
the demand for reparations was/is a gutsy decision!
Second, the brilliant essay The Case for Reparations
by Ta-nehisi Coates published in the Atlantic Magazine, has electrified
a new generation of Black people who were largely unfamiliar with
reparations or unconvinced of its validity and value as a goal. While a
dedicated core of true believers have kept the issue of reparations
alive, for the movement to grow it must be embraced by a new generation
of potential advocates who, like Brother Coates, can be converted to the
cause. Moreover, we need a moment when the movement can be broadened to
form a critical mass, a formidable force to advance the demand for
reparations. That moment may be at hand. Indeed, Queen Mother Moore
would be excited to learn that a National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC) has been established in her memory! [visit the website www.ibw21.org
for list of Members] Inspired by the CARICOM Reparations Commission and
designed to function as a parallel body, NAARC’s primary mission is to
develop a preliminary Reparations Program/Agenda as part of an education
and advocacy process to expand the Reparations Movement in the U.S.
Ultimately, NAARC will develop a final Reparations Program/Agenda as an
outgrowth of input from a series of regional community-based hearings
and town hall meetings across the country.
This
moment presents a major opportunity for discussions on how the
Reparations Movement in the U.S. should proceed. The Coates article
tapped into what appears to be growing sentiment that reparations are
due Africans in America not only for enslavement, but the damages done
to our people during the era of de jure and de facto segregation as well
as post segregation. Coates’ research on housing patterns in Chicago
clearly demonstrates the intergenerational wealth deficit created by
discriminatory housing policies and practices. Michele Alexander has
also added her voice to reparations advocates who believe compensation
is due for the massive damages to Black families and communities as a
direct result of the “New Jim Crow,” mass incarceration. Damages from
environmental racism are also a matter which
some advocates contend should be on the table. These considerations
expand the scope of the reparations demands.
There
is also a need to discuss the collective versus individual payment of
reparations. This often comes up as a question when arguing the case for
reparations. While one could make an argument for both, I am hopeful
that a consensus will emerge in favor of collective developmental
assistance. The chronic wealth gap and state of emergency in America’s
dark ghettos are a direct consequence of generations of exploitation and
oppression which should be addressed in terms of compensation that will
be used to end the underdevelopment of the National Black Community.
Individuals in the Black community would benefit from increased
opportunities resulting from developmental assistance for the
group/collective.
Consistent
with the concept of collective developmental assistance, it would also
be useful to develop a consensus for a Reparations Trust Fund or similar
structure to administer the various types of compensation that might be
received from the federal government, state and local governments,
corporations/businesses and institutions like universities, implicated
in enslavement or other damaging policies and practices inflicted in
other eras. Such a Trust Fund would be governed by a Board comprised of a
cross-section of credible Black leaders and organizations that would
receive various forms of compensation and allocate resources in
accordance with a strategic development plan. As an aside, I have a
particular interest in demanding that federal lands be transferred to a
Trust fund with the same kind of
sovereignty and rights eventually granted Native Americans for the
criminal dispossession of their lands.
As
the case for reparations for Africans in America is advanced, we need a
much more coherent message about key issues and questions that are
often raised by our people like the ones cited above. Hopefully, as
NAARC engages in its deliberations, it can be helpful in formulating and
advancing recommendations on these vital issues and questions. I
continue to believe that HR-40, the Reparations Study Bill, introduced
by Congressman John Conyers, Jr. every year since 1989, can be a
valuable organizing tool to generate discussion and action on this vital
issue.
The
National/International Reparations Summit will not only be a moment to
galvanize the U.S. Reparations Movement, it will serve to galvanize an
emerging global Reparations Movement. A key goal of the Summit is to
explore avenues for systematic information-sharing and mutual support as
a means of strengthening the global Reparations Movement. As such, it
will provide an opportunity for a dialogue/interface between NAARC and
the CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) and advocates from the
Caribbean, Central and South America, Canada and Europe (21 countries as
of this writing). Without question the CRC will be most closely
examined as the model which has given a major boost to the U.S. and
global Reparations Movements. At the end of the deliberations a
mechanism will be put in place to sustain the momentum
of this incredible moment in history. Let the word go out across the Pan
African World, the global Reparations Movement is on the rise and Queen
Mother Moore is pleased!
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