M and I watched a very interesting show on tv last night - on Nickelodeon of all stations. On this show were ten kids (ages 13-16) from various racial backgrounds and they were discussing slavery and how it still affects their lives - racial tension, profiling, etc. I was impressed with these young people, with their ability to honestly look back on their ancestry and openly discuss their feelings. Needless to say it got me to thinking: Do we owe an apology to African Americans? What about reparations?
No sitting president has ever issued an apology for slavery. Some think there is no need to apologize, especially now that we have a black president. But, what if you put yourself in their shoes, at least the less affluent among the African Americans. You're born into poverty, raised by your mom along with several half brothers and sisters. The closest you have to a father figure is the local drug dealer on the corner who gives you $2 per day to watch for pigs down the street. The only real family you have seen on your block is the street gang who is recruiting you daily to be a soldier in their army. You are told all of your life that the reason you and your people are the majority in the slums, but a minority in society, is because the white man has held you back. They bought and paid for your ancestors, shipped them over here to work the honky's farms, beat them daily to keep them in line, and it took a civil war to free them. But once freed, your people were still treated as second class citizens - they couldn't eat, sleep, or even use the same bathrooms as the white folks... Do you see where this is going? Obviously not a single person reading this is directly responsible for this young man's trouble, but that is not what he has been taught. Society owes him something but he's not sure what - money, entitlements, apologies, something.
So why don't we, as Americans, apologize to the descendants of slaves for putting their ancestors through that torture? What harm could it do? Yes, it will take admitting that slavery was a mistake and that we were wrong for allowing it to happen on our soil. No, it will not mean that we owe this generation anything more than that. I had family who owned slaves, but I am not a direct descendant from them. I did not benefit in the least bit from slavery, and neither did 99.9% of Americans today, not even here in the south. Although the slave owners did benefit at the time from the cheap labor, all that was gained was lost during the civil war. The truth is that there is no money left from that era to be split for reparations. I personally do not want money taken out of my pocket to pay for the mistakes of a few greedy plantation owners. But, I will offer this: I'm sorry. I sincerely apologize for the pain and suffrage that your people were put through. I am saying this as an American only, because it sickens me to think that we allowed this practice to take place in our country. I cannot change the past and I cannot answer for it, I can only regret that it ever happened.
Now I offer a message to our "fictional" young man: Stop the hate, nobody owes you anything. Only you can change your future; only you can make the choices that decide your fate. I'm going to let you in on a little secret - the only reason some seem more fortunate in the environment in which they are raised is because of the decisions their parents made. They did not go around blaming someone else for their troubles, instead they chose to make changes and sacrifices to provide a better future than they had. You are not destined to the gang or drug life, though you may feel that way. We live in a free country now where every American has the right to pursue whatever path they choose. Show me a man who worked hard, lived right, and made the right choices and still failed. Can't do it. Our society awards hard work and dedication, just like it condemns thugs and criminals. If you don't do it for yourself, do it for your children, and their children. Make a difference and be a leader. Choose your role models carefully - if they come from the NBA or Pimp Daddy Records, odds are they are not the ones you need to emulate. I could think of hundreds, maybe thousands, that could serve as an example for you to follow. Get a library card and go to the African American Heritage section for a role model. Study hard in school and try for an academic or minority scholarship, and/or learn a trade and start your own business. Maybe one day you can be the role model that other kids can look up to.
For The Kids
17 years ago
