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Redemption song: An analysis of the reparations movement

University of Memphis Law Review, The, Winter 2003 by Jones, Christopher C

Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.1

I. INTRODUCTION

The movement for reparations2 to the descendents of American slavery is a volatile topic that invokes passionate responses from both sides of the issue. Many of these responses, however, are made without any knowledge of either the history of reparations or the relevant issues concerning the modern movement. Though this Article provides only a brief overview on the issue, its aim is to create a context for future discussions on the merits of reparations for American slavery and post slavery discrimination against African Americans, an issue that is continuously becoming more relevant to the national perspective.

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Part II covers the history of reparations, relating both to slavery and otherwise, in America from the end of the Civil War to present day. Part III outlines current efforts at obtaining reparations for descendants of slaves. Part IV discusses legal theories and defenses that could arise in a lawsuit seeking reparations. Finally, Part V considers policy concerns, including the form and beneficiaries of reparations, as well as potential debtors and the future of affirmative action.

II. THE HISTORY AND BACKGROUND OF THE REPARATIONS MOVEMENT

The concept of reparations for the descendants of Africans held as slaves in the United States is not new. Since the end of slavery, there has been an ongoing debate over whether and how to improve the general condition of African Americans. In fact, one of the first entities to become involved in improving the condition of former slaves was the federal government, following the Civil War with the Freedmen's Bureau. Subsequently, activists such as Queen Mother Moore3 and Martin Luther King, Jr., have sought to bring the issue of reparations to the forefront. More recently, case law concerning reparations in other contexts has developed that may well serve to advance the slavery reparations struggle significantly, as some descendants of slaves are beginning to look to the court system to recover reparations.4

A. The Freedmen's Bureau

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, commonly referred to as the Freedmen's Bureau, was established on March 3, 1865 as the federal government's first effort at aiding former slaves.5 Its mission was to address the concerns of refugees and freed slaves within the states that were under reconstruction following the Civil War.6 Commissioner General O.O. Howard was appointed by President Andrew Johnson to head the organization.7 The Bureau was a subsidiary of the War Department8 and completely dependent upon the department for its funding, staff, and other resources.9

The Bureau attempted to achieve its objective of improving the condition of newly freed slaves through a myriad of programs. Because education was unavailable to African Americans during slavery, the Bureau established schools specifically for the education of Freedmen, including Howard University in Washington, D.C.10 The Freedmen's Bureau also worked to establish churches, as most African Americans had been offered no formal religion during slavery.11

Additionally, the Bureau sold and rented confiscated Confederate lands to ex-slaves in order to provide a solid economic base for the victims of slavery.12 The most famous of these efforts came with the help of General William T. Sherman. On January 16, 1865, General Sherman and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton met with African American community leaders in Savannah, Georgia during the General's historic "March to the Sea."13 The group discussed the future of captured Confederate lands that ultimately fell under the jurisdiction of the Freedmen's Bureau.14 Following this meeting General Sherman issued Special Field Order #15, under the terms of which, each African American family was to receive forty acres and a government mule to work the land.15 General Sherman stated that his purpose was to "give the freedmen protection, land and schools as far and as fast as he [could]."16 This effort was later echoed in a bill presented to the Fortieth Congress by Pennsylvania Congressman Thaddeus Stevens which called for the "Forty Acres and a Mule" distribution to be made to freed slaves on a nationwide basis.17 As other confiscated lands became subject to the jurisdiction of the Bureau, there was much discussion of implementing this program on a wider basis to aid the development of more freedmen.18

However, the Bureau's efforts were hampered by a severe lack of funding from the War Department, vicious opposition from conservatives, and a weak internal structure. The Bureau's "death knell," however, came from President Johnson himself in 1866 when he ordered all lands controlled by the Freedmen's Bureau to be returned to the pre-Civil War owners.20 As a result of this order, freed slaves lost access to land, and the Freedmen's Bureau lost its primary source of funding.21

Redemption song: An analysis of the reparations movement

University of Memphis Law Review, The, Winter 2003 by Jones, Christopher C

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