It's all good

  The governor of California has signed legislation to provide reparations and an apology to African American residents. A task force has been working out the details. This task force which consists of nine individuals has been busy figuring it all out. Interesting to note is the task force consists of eight African-Americans and one Asian. Yeah, ask me if I should get money. I'm thinking the task force may be just a bit biased. All elected officials I'm certain they are not considering their reelection possibilities when deciding on all of that. No, they wouldn't be concerned with their constituents. Yes, seems like a totally fair and unbiased group to me. Strange though, a group of white folks on a jury judging a black man would certainly be called prejudicial! In fact, it wouldn't ever happen today.

 This task force has studied the issue. At least one group has estimated that the fair amount of reparations to be paid would be 800 billion dollars. Lifetime residents of the state could receive as much as a million dollars each. Now we all know that is the wish list and the final amounts have not been determined but that is what is among the proposals. These reparations should be sufficient to change the lives of the recipients. It's only fair. The problem of determining eligibility has been discussed. The determination was that descendants of slaves and free blacks should receive those funds. The reason there being the difficulty in establishing lineage. The free blacks could have been enslaved, it was a risk, so they should be included. It's true that California was admitted to the Union as a free state in 1850. But, that state despite being free did enforce a federal law, the fugitive slave act, returning slaves that had run away. They didn't stop doing that until the 13th amendment was ratified. The nerve of that state, obeying federal statues. 

 Another component of this bill would be a formal apology. That must include a condemnation of former Gov. Peter Hardeman Burnett, the state's first elected governor and a white supremacist who encouraged laws to exclude Black people from California. A censure of the "gravest barbarities" must also be included. And this censure, this apology must be delivered in person by the Governor himself to a company of those formally enslaved! That must be done regardless of if you can prove your distant ancestor was ever enslaved or not, all that is required is the proper skin tone. The apology must be issued to free blacks as well. That's because they suffered almost as much as those that were enslaved. Well, we all know the whole thing was systemic to the founding of the nation. Heck the white folks were responsible for all that starting in 1619! They were buying slaves from African chiefs. Of course, those Africans selling other Africans was just business you know, nothing prejudicial or racist about any of that.

 Okay so this task force has decided that reparations are necessary. An apology is required. No one wants to say however just how much being a slave is worth today. Well, because there is no one alive today that was a slave, there is no white person alive today that was ever a slave owner. So, we are going to have people that never owned slaves, never had anything to do with any of that paying those that were never enslaved. But we are going to pay them for what might have been, what could have happened, maybe. Not only that, we are going to apologize for their missed opportunity? How much is all that worth? Can you set a price on that? Ask me how much money I should get, how often I should get it and whether you should be reconciliatory to me when giving it to me. Hell yes you should, and you could never give me enough! Oh, and this task force recommends this become a national policy. In 1820 there were twenty two free states in America. Still the blacks living there should get reparations as well because they could have been enslaved. They did face discrimination. So did the Irish, the Chinese, the Germans, the Greeks, the Italians, and every other immigrant that came to these shores. Hey, they were free, but they could have faced discriminatory practices. Is there no compensation or apology for them? Why not? Where does it end. 

 The truth is about 3% of all slaves traded in the Atlantic Slave Trade came to the United States. 97% went elsewhere throughout the Caribbean and other nations. None of those 97% are being compensated or apologized too. The truth is slavery only existed in portions of the United States for a total of 89 years before being completely abolished in 1865. Any slaves held prior to 1776 were done so by British citizens, not Americans. An inconvenient truth. Shouldn't the British be paying those reparations? Hey, they started it. The big question remains, how much and for how long these measures of appeasement will continue. At what point do you say, thanks you've given me enough and I accept your apology, it's all good. When does that happen?