|
Art Alcausin Hall
excerpted from: Art Alcausin Hall, There Is a Lot to
Be Repaired Before We Get to Reparations: a Critique of the Underlying
Issues of Race That Impact the Fate of African American Reparations, 2
Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Minority Issues 1, 32-41 (2000) (295
Footnotes Omitted)
For African Americans, it is often easy to place sole blame for many
of the problems of race and the perpetuation of those problems on White
America generally. However, the second root of race problems in the
United States is attributed at least in some part to African Americans
themselves. The justification for this blame centers in the African
American community's growing division.
A. The Difficulty of the Individual vs. Group Perspective in the
Integration vs. Nationalism Debate
The history of African American reparations reveals the existence of
diversity within the African American perspective in the past.
Reparations was the advocacy flag of the nationalists in their internal
struggle with integrationists, who argued that ending the old de jure
discrimination was sufficient, and now people of African descent have to
be able to work and cooperate within the system. The reparationists
argued that America had a duty to remedy the past and maintain measures
to equalize a society that was more than superficially divided.
The two camps differed primarily in their particular views of the
dominance of the individual versus that of the group. Integrationists
focused on the individual. For integrationists, "[t]he war [was]
seen, in essence, as a war between individuals with different
attributes, of which race [[was] only one. Equality exist[ed] as long as
the rules of the game [were] fairly and even applied to everyone,
without regard to race." The integration theory embodied the
outcome of African American assimilation to white culture and norm and
tended to be the advocated proposition of the dominating entity, which
was the European perspective in the African American reparations
context.
On the other hand, nationalism tended to be the theory of the
submissive entity. Nationalists focused on the group and the collective
conditions and experiences faced by African Americans. Proponents of
nationalism rejected notions of "Black pathology and white
supremacy" that often accompanied integration theory. One author
argued, with regard to the importance of group experience in the
reparations movement,
[T]he European-American individualist world view (the dominant
perspective) [was seen] as the obstacle to a reparations program,
because the value placed on individualism [was] so entrenched in the
dominant perspective that it [could not] yield to foreign concepts
such as group entitlements or group wrongs. Dr. Linda James Myers
describe[d] the Afrocentric conceptual system characteristics as
collectivism, group ownership, and ethical communalism, while the
characteristics of the dominant conceptual system [ [were]
materialism, competition, and individualism.
Largely because of its less threatening and complimentary nature to
the dominant entity's policies, integration gained the most widespread
acceptance. Nonetheless, despite integration's popularity, many have
criticized the ineffectiveness of the theory and have pointed to other
alternatives, such as reparations. "[T]wenty years of integration
data starkly refute the promise of integration-based politics as the
sole means of improving the quality of experience and results for the
mass of African- Americans."
The failure of integration has encouraged the re-emergence of
nationalism and reparations as a legitimate solution to the racial
issues existing within the United States. Particularly for African
American reparations, integrationism, being rooted in the individual,
has been viewed as having little appeal or effectiveness in dealing with
the African American quest as a whole.
Hence, with the growing frustration experienced by African Americans
generally, the alternative of reparations as a solution for past and
present racial ills continues to gain momentum. However, the continuing
growth in the diversity of opinion and perspective within the African
American community must be coalesced for reparations to become a
feasible and acceptable alternative, noticed and entertained in the
larger political arena.
B. Disunity in the African American Community
The integrationist versus nationalist debate is only part of the
historic and present disunity and dissension in the African American
community. The similarity of experience of African Americans after the
Middle Passage helped to cement a unity that moved African Americans
from slavery through the Civil Rights Movement to overcome common
barriers of racism, discrimination, and oppression. This unity of
experience, prompting unity of action, was one of the great impetuses of
the Civil Rights Movement that inspired the African American community
and affected the nation and world. But, one of the goals of the Civil
Rights Movement was to expand the experience and potential
socio-economic and political gains of African Americans.
Today, African Americans can be found on many different
socio-economic, professional, and influential levels. Whereas in the
pre-Civil Rights Movement days African Americans could be homogeneously
categorized because their experiences and backgrounds were similar, such
categorization is much more difficult today. The experience of African
Americans is growing more dissimilar as many barriers are overcome,
although some less obvious barriers persist or replace old ones,
barriers are not so common today, or at least the perception of those
barriers is viewed with greater diversity. While diversity within the
Black diaspora is applauded and encouraged, this diversity has led to
different perceptions of the problems - if problems are considered
existent - and the solutions relevant and extensive enough to
effectively and completely address those problems.
Differing policy perspectives can be traced as far back as the
beginnings of slavery, when African tribes sold members of other African
tribes into European slavery. Then during slavery, the "house
Negroes" had different philosophies from their "field
Negro" counterparts. Differences in the philosophies of Dr. King
and Malcolm X also became evident, despite the fact that both
experienced the same racial issues and attacked the same injustices of
their time.
Presently, we see a rise in the number of African American
representatives in the Republican Party, most notably Clarence Thomas,
Colin Powell, J.C. Watts, and Alan Keyes. The increase of representation
in the Republican Party contrasts what has traditionally been the party
for African Americans - the Democratic Party. And today, the discussion
of reparations within the African American community seems to parallel
the historic dissension and disunity of the community.
C. Dissension within the Black Caucus in the African American
Reparations Debate
With regard to African American reparations, many argue a significant
problem for the African American reparations movement is that proponents
of reparations must first acquire the support of wavering African
Americans on the issue. One authority stated, "Not even all the
members of the Black Caucus are on board. In fact, two black Democrats
on the Judiciary Committee - Mel Watt of North Carolina and Bobby Scott
of Virginia - have declined to follow their Democratic leader
[Conyers]." Without an expansive and consistent front within the
Black community, particularly the lack of leadership, African American
reparations, with already very little to no support from the White
American community, has little potential for enactment.
D. Young-Old Dichotomy and Its Effect on Plaintiff Identification and
Apathy
Preventing further efforts toward racial progress and reparations is
the increase of disunity within the African American community between
the young and the old. Not all young African Americans have a strong
knowledge of history and an understanding of the importance of history.
African American young people must merely read and/or hear stories about
the experiences that their parents, grandparents, and other forebearers
faced, and they have a different experience and a unique set of race
issues from that of their predecessors. The experiences and issues of
the new and coming generations of African Americans seemingly warrant a
different urgency and respect for issues of race, not always looked upon
favorably, or more importantly understood, by those of the older
generation.
For reparations, this age dichotomy has two important ramifications.
First, practically speaking, a key element in the plaintiff
identification factor of reparations is the closeness of the request for
reparations to the actual injury. While a slave might have a cause of
action requiring reparations, his or her children, grandchildren, etc.,
will have less of an opportunity to be repaired, even though they still
feel the effects or aftereffects of that slavery. This limitation is in
spite of the persuasive argument that the situation and time period in
which slavery existed prevented the immediate request and/or granting of
reparations through the courts or legislative bodies as a possible
solution. In other words, when the evidence and parties needed for
direct remedy were strongest and present, so too were the ideological,
legal, and political barriers necessary to overcome to achieve that
remedy. While many are working to base reparations on more recent
injustices, the time factor continues to emerge as a primary issue in
the African American quest for reparations.
The other important ramification of age diversity is the diminished
understanding, commitment, and importance young people will place on
issues of race. This reality, along with the difficulty of uncovering
overt and covert forms of racism today, will result in fewer efforts of
young African Americans to promote issues of racial importance, such as
African American reparations, and challenge (much less even recognize)
surfacing racial injustices. The issue of age diversity plays an
important role in the feeling of lack of ownership for reparations among
African American young people and the requisite support, rallying, and
endorsement needed to move Congress to begin thinking about reparations
possibilities and alternatives. Apathy and a "lax mentality"
with regard to race issues has replaced not so much a "protest
mentality," but somewhat of a constructive anger that might be
termed "revolutionary" or "militant." This divide
has served to exaggerate differences between African Americans based on
age, socioeconomic status and lifestyle, political belief, definition
and identity, etc. Such a divide augments already existent disunity and
dissension.
E. Difficulty of Administering Race
The issue of age diversity leads to another practical problem in the
African American reparations movement context - the difficulty of
defining the parameters of race. Reparations is compensation for a group
injury as opposed to an individual injury. However, the challenge for
administering reparations is determining the elusive concept of race and
defining who is a member of this injured group.
In the African American community, there are varying hues of
blackness. In addition, there are many African Americans who do not
necessarily identify as such but would rather be considered more in
their multicultural, individual, or even "American" context.
There are also native Africans, Caribbeans, other foreign members of the
Black diaspora, and those who have recently been naturalized as American
citizens. Finally, the African American community is becoming much more
economically diverse, making the impact of the past less obvious for
some African Americans than for others, and present race issues
seemingly based on factors other than slavery, its effects, or even race
in general. These factors lessen the ability to identify an injured
party or group worthy of African American reparations.
The difficulty with remedying the past discrimination is determining
the definition and confines of race and administering the remedies.
"[T]he concept of race is central both to identifying and to
rectifying the effects of prejudice. . . . [The] dichotomy between the
importance of race classification to anti-discrimination law and its
fundamental indeterminacy creates. . . a core dilemma of modern
race-conscious law: the difficulties of how we 'administer race." '
Others argue the absurdity of this administration of race. Armstrong
Williams, an African American conservative and employee of a D.C.- based
public-relations firm, asks "Who are the descendants of slaves and
who are not? . . . It would literally pay to be black. Everybody and
their momma would claim they were black." These are difficult
questions for the African American community, but they must be addressed
prior to further discussions of the possibility of reparations.
F. Inconsistent Goals of the African American Community
In addition to the diversity discussed, the existing diversity leads
to an inconsistent, unidentified goal and ensuing tensions. Americans -
whether it be the government, white citizens, or "minority" or
African American citizens - do not have a clear idea of what is being
achieved. Thus, different ideas as to the goals set have led to
different, often conflicting, efforts thereby creating tension.
The term "colorless," or "colorblind," society
and "melting pot" have been bantered around for years. These
terms connote the aim of earlier immigrants to assimilate into American
society as a symbol of advancement. However, because this assimilation
meant adopting White American culture rather than a perceived mixture of
their own culture with others, many people of color, including African
Americans, have begun to focus on different concepts - a
"colorful" society and a "stewpot." These terms
reveal a desire for a stronger group identity as part of this concept of
an "American society." But, until these ideas become part of
the more general aim of the members of the various communities of color
as well as the general American society, interest in reparations and the
meaning behind it will be futile, lost in conflicting goals. Indeed,
there are differences, particularly within the African American
community, that must be addressed and resolved before progress in the
African American reparations movement can be made |
