Response to "The National Review" Article About Reparations

 Please read Mr. Kevin Williamson's heartless approach to slavery and reparations: 

Are you serious?  Mr. Coates only reminds all of America the long standing  injustices  and broken promises to former slave and their descendants.  Let me remind you that Black Americans  have been  really loyal Americans. We deserve Reparations.  Kicking the can further down the road is counterproductive. Reparations should be supported by all American including you. Black Americans have stood in the gap and sacrificed unwillingly for you and your friends and colleagues for hundreds of years and still do today. Show some appreciation. Support a just cause. No fair minded  person can work against this unless they are absent of the facts. We provided  you with an prosperous opportunity while we were denied ours. You should be on the reparation band wagon simply because it is the right thing to do. Don’t you believe in justice for all people? Or do you believe in justice for all people except Black people especially those in the United States. No amount of money can make it completely right but an inheritance of reparations surely would make our lives a lot better. I will go a step further and say All America will benefit just as much and I think White America  will benefit the most. I  am serious.

Honestly you come across as a racist. I hope you deny this because I want to believe that you are just uninformed. I am being objective. I cannot understand  how a 21^st century White man could have such out dated beliefs especially with all the information available to you through science and technology. The information is there. Research it. If you lived in the 19^th century it is a real good chance you would be a slave owner.

 I say this  not to anger you but to wake you up. There is no way a man with justice in his heart can justify damaging a whole race of people for hundreds of years  and still feel that this Government  and society do not owe them anything. It’s a classic case of blaming the victim.

I suggest you get to know some Black people. Read  about  us. Read our history. It’s American history too. We are 100% American.

I still cannot understand  why you  have to respond to Mr. Coates article at all because any just person knows reparations will repair all of America not just the descendants of slaves. Personally I am so excited about the prospects of reparations. I am so glad Mr. Coates wrote on this subject. The article should have been name “The Overwhelming Case for Reparations.” I am sure that what he meant .

40 Acres and A Mule

Roland Martin’s interview with Martin Luther King III was excellent. When The Tom Joyner Show focused on the plight of Black America in the 21^st Century,it really peaked my interest with all the things going on in Baltimore, Cleveland, Chicago and  large and small cities around this nation.

A friend and a client of mind discussed this subject just this past Sunday. I’ve concluded for more than 2 years that many of Black America’s problems are somehow related to the lack of economic empowerment. We have never been paid for the “40 acres and a mule”ordered over 150 years ago. We have not received our inheritance(reparations} due us from after the Civil War. Now is the time for the US government to make good on this promise.

 Reparations is surely needed now. Wouldn’t that be great? I got the plan too! My plan is called The America Reparation Plan and it will work 100% of the time even with a lot of resistance even though it is in everybody’s best interest to support this plan.. As a matter of fact even if you disagree with this plan it will help you too no matter what economic class you belong to. My plan will be the most prolific economic stimulus this Nation has ever experienced. This Nation’s economy will be on steroids. That’s no hype!

Let me explain briefly. My proposal is that about 20 million Black American adults will receive about $1million  over a 30 year period. That’s about $2500 to $3000 a month for 30 years. This way  this amount will not break the Bank of the US Treasury. It’s affordable. To say that it will be too costly will be a none issue. That will eliminate that excuse. This will amounts to about 600 billion dollars a year.  This a very small amount of investment that will pay huge dividends in a short time. I predict that The Black neighborhoods will change drastically  in about 3 years.

Black people will be empowered by this money. New homes will be built, some repairs, new cars, new appliances, etc. Every segment of economy will be affected. More money, more jobs, more income increases throughout the economy will be consistent with steady economic growth. Who can be against that?  Also there will be more profits for corporations. More demands equal more profits. More profits equal more dividends and more employment and more taxes. All levels of Government can do more with more revenues. The Schools all over the country will have the opportunity to be excellent because income is an indicator of how great our schools will be. Problems solved right? It’s not a cure all but it will definitely beat what’s going on now.

New businesses will be created. There will new employees hired. There will be more money to spend in an ever growing economy.

When The American Reparation Plan is implemented by Congress it will lift the US economy into the stratosphere and the economies like China will not be able to compete with America’s. Who knows, maybe will  be able to loan China some money one day in the near future when The American Reparation Plan is implemented. The whole world’s economy will be impacted positively.

Reparations Should Be The Next Move For South Africa

Let’s us all continue to celebrate the Great Nelson Mandela. It is absolutely a miracle that he was able to forgive the people who imprisoned him for 27 years. He was a shining example on how we can use our God given  talents. Please continue to celebrate his legacy. He is worthy.

One thing bugs me.  I heard a BBC report that got me to thinking deeply about the future of South Africa.

The average medium income of White South Africans is 6 x that of Black South Africans today in 2013.

That’s contemptible.  Black South Africans deserves reparations too. 

It will take countless  generations to achieve income equality because White South Africans are so far ahead of Black South Africa. There mus t be a better plan to achieve equity.  

That's the cold truth! The state of South Africa  must face the truth.!

Here is my suggestion to South African leadership in the coming months and years. After you celebrate the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela, turn your vigorous attention to reparations in some form.

How can Black South Africans find income equity without some kind of  reparations. Forgiveness is the coolest thing. Money is tangible. Money is a equalizer. Please examine this possibility. Can you imagine what even  a extra $100 / month can do for a struggling Black South Africa Family? They deserve a whole lot more but you have to start somewhere.

Check out what I propose for ”The American Reparation Plan”. It’s a common sense approach to stimulate the US economy for years to come.

Thank You Oprah For Standing Up

Thank you Oprah for standing up for justice. You started a conversation about race and
racism in the United States. I posted my support for your comments and the flood gates opened. Most responses were negative. The one that got my attention was from a responder that made the following comments about my thoughts on my proposed "The American Reparation  Plan"

First: ALL races have been oppressed, indentured, subject to slavery etc... Second: These injustices and slavery experiences of your ancestors happened in the distant past...your ancestors (and mine) are long dead. Why should today's Blacks be rewarded for this? The opportunities for success abound in today's society...take advantage of it. (Many, including Oprah, have.) Third: You will have no peace until you get past your perceived "victimhood" mindset. Fourth: As far as an "Apology" goes, wasn't the blood of hundreds of thousands who died in our Civil War enough? Here is my response.  Thanks for your thoughts.  Thanks for throwing the “Challenge Flag” to use a football term. Now we have a dialogue. That’s what it is all about. I don’t deceive myself by thinking that The American Reparation Plan will be easy to accomplish but this is so important that it has to be realized.  Let me tell you a story that just happened recently. It’s nothing shocking. It’s just true. I hope you are a truth seeker. I went grocery shopping this morning on the south side of metro Atlanta. I shopped at a chain that  I frequent on the Northeast metro area. I’ve notice that this was a poor area of town but the store definitely needs an upgrade. And the  people were friendly and the store   was clean. While I was in line three gentlemen asked me  if they could  get ahead of me to pay for some turkeys that the church had purchased for some needy families in the church and they needed to get back to church and serve these families. I said sure. It reminded me that so many people are in need of  jobs .  Economic stress has paralyzed huge portions of the Black neighborhood. My point is that lots of people are suffering economically now especially people of color. I often hear the term “playing the race card” and I am tire of hearing it too. But sometimes it’s appropriate. I’m telling you this because I am sure that many will read my response to your comments. I am  so glad about it. You may or may not know that many comments were very negative towards me simply because I agreed with Oprah’s comments.. Some called me derogatory and negative names.  But let’s move forward because this country  is in  need of   healing and cooperation especially at this  pivotal point in our history. History is important. It allow us to avoid mistakes of the past and focus on the future. But we must get history right. You and I are not allowed to reconstruct history to fit our own beliefs and agendas.  For example, I noticed that you asked why should you expect  reparations after all these years? That’s a fair question. History records that US Government promise freed slaves doing the reconstruction period  “40 acres and a mule”  but it never happened.. Google this also.  There a wealth of information about this subject. Had  the promise of “40 acres and a mule”  been kept who knows where we would be now. The case for reparations would be dubious. The way history unfolded provides overwhelming evidence that reparations is in order. It’s never been a question of merit but it has always been a question of will and price. With the American Reparation Plan  it permits   America  to approach  this solution on a long term basis. This solution will last longer and be  less disruptive than any plan I know ever.  That’s why I am so excited about the possibilities  Who knows where the good of US of A would be now. It did not happen. We have to deal with realities as they  occurred and not as we wish they could be. Then came the Jim Crow Laws Jim Crow law, in U.S. history, any of the laws that enforced racial segregation in the South between the end of the formal Reconstruction period in 1877 and the beginning of a strong civil rights movement in the 1950s.  Please google this too. There lots of information on this period in US history. I can’t stress enough how important history is. You can find out most anything on the internet. The information about these matters is there. You must have the desire to know the truth and please don’t let people know less than you  dominate your thoughts. Find out for yourself.. Now do you know about the civil rights movement? It  don’t seem so distant  when you approach it like this. If you think you are going to get a fair  and balance information on African Americans from Rush Limbaugh , Sean Hannity and others  talk show hots you are sadly mistaken. They have their agendas. Both Rush and Sean  are masters at what they do.. The Scriptures also  speak about reparations. Please google it up and see for yourself. Let me tell you briefly how I got to this point. I went to get my Drivers license renewed at the DMV. Guess what? They asked me for my birth certificate, social security card, picture ID and proof of my home address.  I didn’t have  the birth certificate and social security card and my valid state issued ID card was not good enough.  There was no sensible explanation. I was angry beyond belief. After all African American are the most documented  people in the history of the world. So  the State of Georgia knows who I am without a doubt. I am  a son of a slave and sharecropper. It’s well documented. C  Many things that had happened in my past were brought to the forefront with my experience with the DMV. I relived them all over again.  The DMV gave me a temporary license until October of this year. It took several weeks to get everything together. I finally got my license. For those several weeks I felt that I was a foreigner in my own land. I was no longer a citizen  of the USA. I joked to my sister that I expected to be deported soon. But I couldn’t figure out to what country. After I calmed down I got   focused again on how to turn this experience into something positive. I wanted to turn my lemons into lemonade   Mamme, Can you give me some insight into why the African Americans are so far behind economically and educationally?  At some point you have to conclude that The Black man is truly inferior or something else is wrong. Is  He is inferior? You can understand why some people think he is cursed or inferior because it lines up with their misguided beliefs. It’s a double self fulfilling prophecy. People have a tendency to rise to the occasion or lower themselves to your persistent  expectations. I believe, why should African Americans accept secondary citizenship in a land where we disproportionately built? We built it with our blood, sweat, tears and even our lives?  When will we be paid for the work we’ve done? When? That’s the real issue. To expect Black America to really compete on a level playing field of White America would be like expecting the  Atlanta Falcons to go to the super bowl with a win loss record of 3-8. Even if they won all remaining games it’s still will be impossible to do.  Sorry Falcons but this is a good example. It’s time we face the truth. I  hope for a better tomorrow for all. I noticed that you think that I still have the victim mentality. I certainly hope I don’t. I am hopeful and believe that America’s future is brighter than ever before and once again the Black man will contribute in a great way to the success of this great nation.  As a matter of fact, who else is uniquely qualified to lead the greatest nation ever?  By the grace of God this will happen. I am very proud to be Black. I also know that things have to change for us to prosper on a wide scale. Trust me, my ideas are not at all popular with many in the Black community because many are so beat down that they can’t see the possibility of reparations can be realized. Do you see this on Rush Limbaugh or even “Meet The Press?”   Of course this will be a miracle and I believe in miracles. There is no question in my mind that reparation will benefit all America. Of course the Black community will benefit initially but the entire American community will benefit as much.  This is not smoke. This is true.   I challenge you to investigate the possibility for yourself. I’ve recognized so many benefits myself and perhaps you can think of a few yourself. The American Reparation Plan will be the greatest stimulus to the world economy ever in the history of the United States.  Other benefits are as follows; 1)      The welfare and food stamp rolls will be cut by over 30%; 2)      White unemployment will reach a level of about 2% to 3%  within  3 to 5 years or less. 3)      Black unemployment will decrease from 12% to about 9%-8% 4)      Many existing businesses with be stabilized on a long term basis. I can’t think of a business that will not benefit. 5)      Black businesses will be created and sustained at a record pace. They will be creating jobs in the Black community and the larger community too. 6)      The American Reparation Plan will place America on a path of economic boom unmatched in history 7)      All Americans will feel better about themselves because Their Beloved Country have made a good faith effort to pay for past injustices that we all can be proud. That will be a wonderful day to put this “elephant in the room’ behind us. You spoke of an apology. The question of apology is not high on my list. It’s really not that important to me. My main focus is to make sure I’ve did my part to leave America better for future generations. It is so evident that money makes  many things better for all humans. This is a fact for sure. There is lots of evidence to prove this point. The bigger point  is this, apologies are good but reparations will be a tangible  asset that will do great things  to improve all American  lives for years to come.  The American Reparation Plan will change generations to come. Thank you for your interest and consideration.