Reparations Will Not Repair Our Nation

            There was a time in our country’s short history where not all men were created equal.  In the eighteenth and nineteenth century black slaves were used in America as tools for farmers in the south.  Not only were they workers, but they were also the property of the person they worked for.  Slaves had no rights and no privileges unless they were given to them by their owner.  This oppression continued for many years until the emancipation of the slaves by Abraham Lincoln.  The slaves were freed in 1865 and now the social division between whites and blacks has become far less brutal and discriminatory.  Every American today knows what happened so long ago when the slaves were forced into performing harsh acts of labor for no pay.  Some Americans even believe that they should be repaid for the suffering of the black slaves.  There are several African American activists who believe that black people should receive reparations for the great acts of cruelty that were implemented on the black slaves in America, mainly the south.  While it seems fair to say that there should be some form of compensation for the slaves, it is not the slaves who are asking for retribution.  It is the African Americans today who are asking for reparations for the actions committed against black slaves in the 18th and 19th century.  The United States government should not have to pay reparations to the descendents of African American slaves, because these reparations would be undeserved and would cause social complications.

American citizens should not be held responsible for the actions of certain white ancestors against black people over one hundred years ago.  In order for a legal case for reparations to be made, “one must identify an individual who has been directly harmed and an individual who is directly and provably responsible for that harm” (Tracinski 2).  Nobody that was a slave or a slave owner in the 19th century is still living.  No individual people can be positively identified as a victim or an oppressor, and therefore no case for reparations can be made.  Most of the families living in the U.S. today were not here during times of slavery.  Many American citizens today come from several different cultural backgrounds, owing to “the two great waves of immigration that occurred after 1880 and then after 1960” (Horowitz 2).  Paying slavery reparations to all African Americans would hold millions of people responsible for the actions of a smaller population of white people.  Slavery had already ended by the time these large influxes of immigrants occurred.  Holding these people responsible for the previous actions of white slave owners would be unjust to these citizens.  Americans have also blended their ethnicities as time has progressed and “if reparations are to be paid the descendents of slave owners, many blacks would be making cases against themselves not knowing if they have a mixed genealogy” (Haley 66-67).  American culture today is so diverse that some people do not know what their true background really is.  A black man could be a descendant of a white slave owner due to generations of racial mixing and not even know it.  It would be highly irresponsible for blame to be placed solely on those people today who are not African American as a result of the enslavement of black people over a century ago.

               The idea that slavery has caused black people in America to be terminally impoverished is untrue.  Some activists make claims that “the descendants of slave continue to suffer the institutional legacies of slavery” (Haley 18-19).  This means that the modern day African American is still affected by the systems set up during times of slavery in America.  Statistics show that “23.6% of all black families live below the poverty level” (Haley 19).  This number shows that almost one quarter of all black families is poverty stricken.  While this number may be high, the enslavement of blacks over a century ago is not the cause.  With regards to the economic situation of African Americans, “poverty, unemployment, crime, and illegitimacy became epidemic only after 1960” (Tracinski 3).  These rates only increased greatly almost a century after the abolition of slavery.  It was not the traditions of slavery that caused the impoverishment of African Americans.  What caused their poverty is the creation of “welfare programs that give incentives against work” (Tracinski 3).  Welfare programs allow poor and unemployed citizens to receive money without doing any work whatsoever.  This naturally attracts some to remain in the welfare system and remain under the poverty level.  The enslavement of blacks did not have an effect on a person’s ability to choose whether to continue living on welfare or to pursue higher education and job opportunities.  Black people in America have it easy when compared to blacks in other countries.  The black people in the United States “are the richest and most privileged black people alive, as a result of slavery” (Horowitz 3).  Our nations preliminary economy was centered on slavery and the goods produced by slaves.  This now allows black people today to enjoy the lifestyle that those in Africa could only dream of.  Although the acts of slavery were cruel, they created a window of opportunity for future African Americans rather than a life of total poverty and subnormal economic opportunities.

            Giving reparations to African Americans would segregate them even more from the rest of the nation’s population.  Reparations would segregate blacks by “encouraging men to look at each other not as individuals…but only as some competing racial group” (Tracinski 5).  Awarding reparations would turn the African American society into an enemy of the rest of society by forming its own specific group that no other ethnicity can be a part of.  The African Americans trying to extract reparations from taxpayers’ money would be segregating themselves from all other groups and anger these groups by reducing their hard-earned funds.  Different organizations ask for various amounts of money from “$1.4 trillion and as high as $24 trillion” (Tracinski 6).  If these amounts were handed over it would create great economic turmoil and the African American community would be seen as the source of this problem.  The blacks would once again be divided from the rest of the population as a result of the animosity felt towards them over the trouble caused by the dispensing of reparations for slavery.  If blacks in America were to receive reparation it “would be the only case of reparations to people…whose sole qualification to receive reparations would be racial” (Horowitz 2).  This would mean that the U.S. would be making an exception for the African Americans.  For the U.S. to change the rules for a racial group would set them apart from all other ethnicities and races.  This tension between races could be avoided by not giving out reparations to the African American organizations who have requested them.  If the government did issue reparations for those African Americans it would greatly divide the racial classes in today’s society.

            Although the times of slavery in America were brutal to say the least for black people, reparations should still not be paid to black Americans for the enslavement of their ancestors.  It is almost impossible to identify a culprit and victim of slavery in today’s world.  America is a combination of cultures that have mixed together over the years and it would be unthinkable to try to place blame on a single person or even a race.  Although there is a high poverty level among black Americans, it was not a result of the policies set in place during the time slavery in the United States.  The poverty is actually a result of a welfare system that encourages unemployment.  If the government were to grant reparations to the descendants of black slaves, it would further disconnect the African American community from the rest of the nation racially.  There would be resentment towards the blacks from other ethnic groups.  The United States government should not give in to the desires of certain African American organizations.  The government should not provide reparations to black people for the enslavement of their ancestors more than one hundred years ago.