Political extremists persist in promoting the notion that the U.S. government should pay monetary reparations to impoverished African-Americans for the institution of slavery. According to supporters of this idea, hard-working American families and taxpayers ought to financially compensate the descendants of slaves. Although this view exists on the fringes of the political left, it has recently received widespread attention at our universities and college campuses. Since financial reparations for slavery are unjust, counter-productive and decidedly anti-American, this notion will forever languish in the garbage receptacle of practically and morally unacceptable propositions.

One obvious problem with slavery reparations is that the financial penalties and benefits are divorced from the slaveholders and slaves, respectively. Practically speaking, the actual perpetrators of slavery would not finance slavery reparations; rather, we would pay for them, even though slavery was abolished 150 years ago. Moreover, the actual slaves would not benefit from slavery reparations; instead, present African-Americans would benefit from them, despite having never lived under the bondage of slavery. Since the specific parties involved in slavery cannot be appropriately compensated and punished, then rewarding people and imposing penalties now would be patently improper. For instance, when an individual files a lawsuit against another, only the particular party suffering the injury can bring a legal action and it must be directed only at those responsible for inflicting the injury. Slavery reparations undoubtedly violate this principle.

Many proponents of slavery reparations contend that Jews harmed by the Holocaust have successfully sought financial compensation. Nevertheless, the parties involved often suffered the deaths of immediate family members or the seizure of specific assets, belongings and property. Additionally, only individual Jews enduring specific injustices causally related to the Holocaust received financial compensation. Conversely, descendants of slaves lack the direct injury wreaked by slavery. Furthermore, financially compensating an entire group of people whose only commonality is skin color is absolutely unprecedented.

This brings me to my next point — ambiguity exists relating to who benefited from slavery and who suffered. Proponents of slavery reparations claim “white peoples” have historically wronged “black peoples” beginning thousands of years ago and are thus deserving of punishment. But a quick glance at the annals of history indicates that black Americans, Africans, Jews, Chinese and Europeans all suffered from slavery at some point in the past. In fact, etymology indicates the term “slavery” is rooted in the enslavement of Slovak peoples in Eastern Europe. Furthermore, after Roman conquests of early Germans, Greeks, Spaniards and Anglo-Europeans, these adversaries were taken to Rome to toil as slaves. Let’s also not forget that Chinese slaves brought to North America during the 19th century constructed much of America’s transcontinental railroad. In short, several major ethnic groups suffered the hardships and horrors of slavery.

Why should “black peoples” (African-Americans and Africans) be the only groups to receive reparations when other ethnicities seem deserving as well? Even so, slave owners were not just white Americans and Europeans; Africans and black Americans owned fellow human beings and took part in this reprehensible system too. Historians acknowledge the existence of at least three thousand African-American slave owners in the South. Wealthy participants in the slave trade included Arabs, Egyptians and other African peoples. In essence, who is objectively liable for the institution of slavery so many ethnic groups participated in and simultaneously suffered from? In light of these numerous lingering questions and issues, favoring reparations for slavery is unjustifiable.

This issue of slavery reparations is also counter-productive to the needs and plight of needy African-Americans today. The debate regarding slavery reparations is an excellent example of the victimization methodology that pervades much of the liberal black-American political community.

Race-based preferences and quotas, affirmative action, the pre-reform welfare state, UW-Madison campus “diversity” initiatives and reparations for slavery illustrate a troubling trend. That trend is public policy reflecting the victimization attitude adopted by too many black Americans. Black scholars such as Glenn Loury, Thomas Sowell and Shelby Steele agree this degrading, humiliating, and stereotypical victim-status attitude implies that African-Americans inherently possess diminished abilities and desperately need entitlements and handouts from government to succeed. It is in this pessimistic and disheartening spirit that figures like Randall Robinson seek slavery reparations. Their advocacy implies that all black Americans are intrinsically incapable and are thus in need of special considerations like financial slavery reparations. This damaging approach will not advance the progress of the black community. I strongly dispute this disparaging tactic and wholeheartedly believe African-Americans possess the same innate ability and potential to thrive. If individuals in the liberal black community want to improve and move forward, they must individually take responsibility for their personal actions and stop looking back to past wrongs to rationalize entitlements and make excuses for underachievement.

Furthermore, the sentiment surrounding slavery reparations reinforces the unacceptable and anti-American view that we are merely members of divided racial and ethnic groups. Proponents of slavery reparations insist that all whites are solely to blame for any problems experienced by African-Americans and Africans. The larger issue is our need to urgently reject this discordant viewpoint that focuses solely on race and should challenge ourselves to view each other as we truly are, as individuals with unique characteristics and life experiences. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution eloquently state that all human beings have fundamental rights. Admittedly, our nation did not live up to its own creed for much of our history. Nonetheless, the thinking that underlies support for slavery reparations is fundamentally against the spirit of our core American values. With the passage of time, with the bloodshed of our soldiers in the Civil War, with legal victories in the courts, with the pain and suffering endured by civil rights activists, with anti-discrimination legislation, with constitutional amendments and more importantly, and with a genuine change in the hearts and minds of our citizens, our nation has travelled far from the dark days of slavery and has finally begun to operate according to the sacred principle that “all men are created equal”.

There is still much progress that should be made to address racial injustices. Reparations for slavery, however, are terrible steps backward from the promise of permanently leaving the painful memories of slavery and legacies of racism behind.