Should there be reparations for slavery?

Introduction

The question of reparations is controversial in contemporary American society, especially when discussed in the context of oppression. In some cases, compensation can be directly offset by individuals or groups for economic losses incurred as a result of oppression. Most often they involve symbiotic payments, which formally recognize wrongdoing by the dominant group and invest in efforts to solve the problems of modern inequality, a result of past injuries. Reparations, therefore, represents a step towards equality, but there is disagreement about how oppressed groups should be compensated in order to achieve equality (Dawson, 91).

Current debate

The question of reparations was met with strong opposition. Conservative activist David Horowitz, one of the most outspoken opponents of the idea of white, argues that reparations is a racist that would hurt the black community. In 2002, Horowitz has bought advertising space in several college newspapers, ads, which cited ten arguments against reparations.

Horowitz believes that compensation is a bad idea, because it is unclear who really should bear responsibility for debts. In addition, not all African-Americans in the United States today are descendants of slaves, and, moreover, the entire population should not be penalized for the actions of a few individuals that occurred in the past. In fact, Horowitz argues that most Americans lives have no direct ties to slavery at all. Another argument put forward against reparations Horowitz includes the requirement that not all Africans are actually suffering from the effects of slavery. In addition, he argues that the compensation has been paid in the form of welfare, affirmative action policies, legislation on civil rights, as well as various forms of racial preferences (Darrity, 39).

Despite appeals and formal apology and reparations for slavery, no restitution has not yet been paid and, indeed, the ongoing debate over the issue raises far more questions. Some wonder, for example, who should be awarded compensation, who should receive compensation, and in what form they should take. Some advocates say the reparations that compensation should be in the form of social programs in black communities. Others, such as the Farmer-Paellmann, call for the monetary compensation payable to a corporation which was made possible through the labor of slaves.

Another group of supporters of reparations call for elimination of the consequences of slavery, not only African-Americans, but also about the current situation in Africa. They argue that the colonial governments and companies have made huge fortunes working in Africa, while Africans and their states have not received compensation for the seizure and enslavement of African peoples. Proponents of this broader view of recovery is recommended to help the African continent to develop economically and to invest in the restoration of American cities. Some of them also recommend the provision of economic aid to many of the Caribbean islands, which became home to displaced Africans during the slavery era.

The question of damages to account for slavery is a complex and unstable (Chajua, 46). In 2002, thousands of African Americans gathered in Washington, DC, in support of reparations to ...