Now someone could say, oppression deriving from
slavery endures to this day. But in that case
reparations is no longer the issue: current
circumstances are. Those with no historic
claim (i.e., the Hmong people in Minnesota)
are no less relevant than the descendants
of slaves.
I think this follows regardless of how much
race should be elevated as a political issue.
If I was a BRC person, I would talk about the
injustice of wealth and its historic roots,
including the obvious racial dimension.
I would not elevate reparations as a remedy.
One reason reparations
gets the attention it does is the landscape
of likely remedies seems so barren. It there
was a movement pressuring the Gov to enact
all manner of progressive programs and laws,
or for that matter a serious revolutionary
movement, nobody would be wasting their time
on reparations.
mbs