True, what about all the white descendants of the whites who died fighting for blacks to be free? Their lives were cut short, thus they didn't live to succeed in life. How would anyone determine who gets what and how much?
OK let's play your little game of whites died for us to be free. Whites were free. They died choosing to fight. Let me repeat. The whites were free. The blacks were not. Blacks had no choice. In addition whites were paid for their labor, not owned as property, had the freedom to go wherever they wanted, not just where their owners said they could go, and were considered citizens with full rights. So I must ask, do you guys even think before you start posting these comments? What reparations would whites be entitled to for fighting to free people who were supposed to already be free according to the constitution? Really do you guys even think? You are paying reparations to Native Americans every year. So again, do you guys even think before you hit the post reply button?
You were not a slave, you are due nothing from slavery. So, you are saying because a white man was free but chose to fight for the blacks to be free, they aren't worthy of compensation too? If it weren't for them, blacks might not have gained their freedom.
Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying.
Who freed the slaves?
Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was limited to freeing only slaves in states that had seceded--slave masters in the border states that had remained officially neutral were exempt, as were any parts of the Confederacy already under Union control. Still, the document was a recognition that the goals of a Union victory to keep the United States together and the destruction of slavery were tied together and inseparable. Since the proclamation could only apply in reality if the North won the war, the Northern army became a de facto army of liberation--with slaves escaping to Union lines to gain their freedom.
Soon thereafter, the Union finally agreed to arm and train Black soldiers. Large numbers of Black men poured into the Union Army, more than half of them former slaves. Their sacrifices were enormous.
Blacks suffered a casualty rate 40 percent higher than white soldiers (of the 38,000 who died, only 2,870 were actually killed in combat, reflecting the horrific living conditions for these soldiers.)
Black troops fought in nearly every major campaign. As a result of one battle alone in Virginia, 14 African Americans received the Medal of Honor. Yet these soldiers faced discrimination at every turn--racist treatment at the hands of all-white officers, disparity in pay, the worst assignments, outdated equipment.
Some white officers fought for the dignity of their troops. Robert Gould Shaw, the commander of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, whose story was immortalized in the excellent film
Glory, was one example. The entire 54th--including the white officers who weren't subject to unfair wages--refused their unequal pay for an entire year. Towards the end of the war, the government relented and granted full and equal back pay.
Not surprisingly, armed Black soldiers terrified the Confederacy, which vowed to return to slavery or put to death any so-called "slave insurrectionists" caught in uniform (as well as any white officers leading them).
Blacks also played a crucial role in the war effort from behind Southern lines--engaging in sabotage, strikes, individual acts of violence, conspiracy, rebellion and marronage (forming illegal communities.) These slave disturbances drained Confederate resources, with militia and army units forced to patrol at home rather than fight the Union Army.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis' own slaves eavesdropped on his meetings--and passed information to Union agents, who were often Black women.
One of the more brazen acts of resistance came on the morning of May 13, 1862. Robert Smalls and a crew of seven other slaves snuck aboard the Confederate ship
Planter with their families and piloted it over to Union lines. Smalls joined the Union Navy--and later became a five-term member of Congress from South Carolina during the short-lived Reconstruction era.
African American resistance is important to note because conservative historians attempted to obliterate this record.
Who freed the slaves?
The U.S. Owes African-Americans Reparations, Says United Nations
The United Nations released its final
report this week outlining a host of concerns about the treatment of African-Americans in the United States.
In short, it isn’t pretty, and it’s a reflection of what many activists have been saying for a long time.
The 22-page document issued by the U.N. Working Group includes 37 “manifestations of racial discrimination” in criminal justice, health care, education, and more.
Many of the conclusions relate to criminal justice, specifically policing and incarceration and their relation to history.
"In particular, the legacy of colonial history, enslavement, racial subordination and segregation, racial terrorism and racial inequality in the United States remains a serious challenge, as there has been no real commitment to reparations and to truth and reconciliation for people of African descent," the report states. "Contemporary police killings and the trauma that they create are reminiscent of the past racial terror of lynching. Impunity for State violence has resulted in the current human rights crisis and must be addressed as a matter of urgency."
The U.S. Owes African-Americans Reparations, Says U.N. Report
Those whites who died fighting were paid. You don't get reparations for choosing to join the army. And as you see if you can read are that the violations extend to today and are not just about slavery.