Are Reparations for Slavery the Right Way to go?
by David Virtue, Virtueonline:
The Maryland diocese of the Episcopal Church is seeking $1 million from its wealthier parishes to make reparations for slavery and systemic racism in order to create a seed fund for programs that would benefit the African American community in Baltimore and beyond.
More than 82% of delegates to the diocese’s annual general convention recently voted to establish the fund. Officials said it’s a key step in a long-term campaign to confront — and repent for — the role the church played in fostering and benefiting from systemic racism in the state.
Sutton recently appeared before the House Judiciary subcommittee and suggested that white people “need” reparations for their souls and to “be able to look” black people “in the eye.”
“I’m actually talking to my white brothers and sisters,” he said. “You need more than we do. You need this for your soul. You need this to be able to look black persons in the eye and say ‘I acknowledge the mistake and I want to be part of the solution to repair that damage.'”
But are reparations being touted by the bishop a way to deal with guilt for past slavery in America, the answer?
Gerald McDermott in his new book Race and Covenant: Recovering the Religious Roots for American Reconciliation says it would encourage descendants to see themselves as perpetual victims rather than forge new bonds of friendship with generations who have always despised slavery and Jim Crow.
Georgetown University historian Joshua Mitchell says there is no way to estimate who pays and who receives and asks on what basis would the account be settled once the checks have cleared, he writes in Race and Covenant.
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