------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Aug. 29, 2002 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
WASHINGTON, D.C.: MASS PROTEST MOVES REPARATIONS STRUGGLE FORWARD By Pam Parker Washington, D.C. Thousands of people, primarily of African descent, attended a spirited rally here Aug. 17 to demand reparations be paid to descendants of the victims of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The reparations would constitute recognition of centuries of slavery and the ongoing racism suffered by African Americans. People young and old traveled from all over the country to attend this historic event. Some came from as far away as Canada and California. The rally, held on the 115th anniversary of the birth of Black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey, took place on the Mall outside the Capitol building in Washington. Red, black and green flags peppered the crowd as they pumped angry fists in the air. Chants of "Black power," "Mugabe" and "Reparations now" filled the air as the demonstrators listened to many representatives of the community and political movements make the case for reparations. Many viewed this event as sowing the seeds for building a powerful movement to win reparations. The demonstration was organized by the National Black United Front, the December 12th Movement and the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (NCOBRA). Viola Plummer of the December 12th Movement and Conrad Worrill of the National Black United Front were the national coordinators of the rally, billed as "Millions for Reparations." It gathered a broad range of supporters, including Rep. John Conyers from Detroit, Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam, Larry Holmes of the International Action Center, Pam Africa of International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, Black Workers for Justice, the New Black Panther Party, and many others from the Black nationalist and civil rights movements. Many rank-and-file union members and local Black leaders were in attendance, including hundreds of 1199 Health and Hospital Workers from New York. JUSTICE DELAYED After the Civil War the Union government promised "40 acres and a mule" to freed slaves. This was to be not only an acknowledgment of the suffering endured by slaves, but compensation for the great wealth that resulted from many years of unpaid labor. Cotton and tobacco constituted roughly 70 percent of all U.S. exports during slavery's peak. The government never kept its promise of reparations. Today politicians and many in the mainstream press ridicule the very idea that there are still adverse effects of slavery suffered by the vast majority of African Americans. In spite of this attack on its legitimacy, the largely grassroots movement for reparations has gained significant momentum recently. The 2001 World Conference on Racism in Durban, South Africa, gave the issue prominent attention. Conference participants declared the Trans-Atlantic slave trade a "crime against humanity." This declaration helped legitimize the reparations movement in a world forum. The popularity of this movement has also risen because African Americans currently face severe economic and social hardships and confront an administration that is unresponsive and often hostile to their needs. This administration is instead bent on attacking other oppressed peoples in imperialist wars. Prominent lawyers and professors have joined forces with many in the progressive and grassroots civil rights movements to demand compensation for slave labor and decades of Jim Crow laws. They argue that those laws were responsible for the economic and social ills that have adversely affected the Black community. Substandard education, housing discrimination, racial profiling, inequitable health care and many other social and economic hardships are the legacy of slavery. The lawyers offer that there is no statute of limitations for acts of murder and genocide. Attorney Roger Wareham has filed a class-action lawsuit, with Deadria Farmer as the lead plaintiff and every descendant of African slaves as co-plaintiffs. The suit targets Fleet Boston Financial, Aetna, and CSX for benefiting directly from slavery. A separate lawsuit filed by the Reparations Coordinating Committee targets the U.S. government. These lawsuits estimate the accumulated wealth produced by slave labor to be in excess of $1.5 trillion. Many in the movement, however, emphasize that this is not yet a struggle for monetary compensation but one to revive and subsequently build the civil rights movement. They also make the point that any money recovered would be shared in the community to improve housing, health care and education for all African Americans. The organizers have tentatively called for another major reparations event at the UN in September 2003. - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Support the voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
