Essay Example on Black Community's Quest for Freedom and Equality

Years ago, members of the black community were treated as items of trade and were sold to different white owners and forced to work under devastating conditions. Slaves would work on the cotton plantations owned by the White community with very little returns in the form of basic needs barely enough to sustain their lives. (Walton) This was the situation in America until the black community decided to stand up and repel all of the atrocities that they were being subjected to and the quest for freedom alleviated very quickly. (Walton) Soon, the black community was later on accorded some privileges and the slave trade was brought to an end. This was a great moment in history where the Black community and the white community were to be treated all as citizens of the United States of America. However, the atrocities committed to the black community can still be felt even by today's generation and this has brought about great debates concerning the proper way to approach this predicament. Reparations are the agenda that some of the black citizens in America are fighting for and this entails giving a significant sum of money to the people affected by the slave trade. In my own perspective, I do not believe that reparations are necessary and such an agenda will only derail the country rather than see it grow.

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It is pointless to issue out reparations and yet the offenders and the afflicted party are long gone. The slave trade occurred a very long time ago and all the people that were responsible for any form of acquiring slaves have long been dead and this is the same case for the slaves. (Feagin, and Ducey) For most black people, anger and remorse due to lack of legal action against these happenings is a normal thing. It does not seem fair that members of the African American population continue to live in difficult conditions today and their ancestors suffered the same fate only much worse during the slave trade period. The debates that have been spearheaded by people like Robinson demanding reparations are somehow not logical and thus may be declared null and void in an official court hearing. (Feagin, and Ducey) If the slave trade was something that just recently occurred then it would only be fair to issue out reparations to every affected family but fighting for reparations in this day and age, charging companies that benefitted from slave trade are not even close to being a sufficient form of compensation to the African American population. (Walton) It is therefore pointless to try and acquire reparations from a government that is totally different from the government that existed a long time ago.

Pinpointing the exact number of people that have been truly affected by the slave trade is a huge predicament. The ongoing debates state that every black person in America is to be issued with a certain form of compensation to cater for the suffering of their ancestors. (Walton) This means that even people born three generations later will benefit from this exercise if it manages to pull through. The argument that is being put across by those fighting for reparations is that the Japanese who were forcefully taken away from their homes and taken to different camps in the States received reparations in form of money amounting to approximately $20,000 each. The total number of people that benefitted from this exercise was around 82,000. (Feagin, and Ducey) One thing that people need to realize is that unlike the black community that was affected by the slave trade, the Japanese that were sent to the camps and killed during the war are known. There are files that show the name of each individual that fell victim to the atrocities conducted and this is why it was easier to compensate the Japanese population. If reparations are to be done to every African American then a lot of money will be used due to the fact that the population of African Americans continues to grow tremendously.

Even though the idea of reparations seems like a solution for the dissatisfaction of the Black community with America, more and more problems will arise if this debate pulls through. Even in this day and age, there is existing negative energy between races in America. (Feagin, and Ducey) Some of the White population seems to have the mentality that most of the people in the African American community are lazy and do not contribute to the growth of the United States. If the reparations are issued out then hate will grow between the races in America and every other race in America will be harsh to Black people since it will be seen as an act of too much leniency on crimes that date back to 500 years ago. (Walton) This will possibly create a situation of unrest in the country with protests of unequal treatment of races being the subject matter of a number of riots. In order to avoid such situations, the fight for reparations of the Black folk should not be considered and better ways of compensation for the devious deeds that took place in the past should be formulated.

Different opinions have been aired out when it comes to this matter and everybody is trying their level best to seize an outcome that is in their favor. Fact is, everyone knows that slavery happened a long time ago and even though it was wrong, it does not seem fair for the younger generation to pay for the mistakes of their ancestors who they barely even knew. If fairness is indeed the core value of the ongoing debates of reparations then it is clearly unfair for the White people in America to suffer for something, their ancestors were involved in. The best way to solve this in my own unbiased perspective is by creating more and more opportunities for African Americans in order to improve the figures surrounding their well-being status. For instance, areas comprising more Black people could be worked on to ensure that there are abundant opportunities that each man and woman can utilize. Reparations may seem like a good idea but the consequences that follow as a result are not worthy.

Works Cited

Feagin, Joe R., and Kimberley Ducey. Racist America: Roots, current realities, and future reparations. Routledge, 2018.

Walton, Hanes, Robert C. Smith, and Sherri L. Wallace. American politics and the African American quest for universal freedom. Routledge, 2017.