Redress for Historical Injustices in the United States: On Reparations for Slavery, Jim Crow, and Their Legacies
edited by Michael T. Martin and Marilyn Yaquinto contributions by David Lyons and Michael K. Brown
Duke University Press, 2007 eISBN: 978-0-8223-8981-1 | Paper: 978-0-8223-4024-9 | Cloth: 978-0-8223-4005-8 Library of Congress Classification E185.89.R45R43 2007 Dewey Decimal Classification 362.8496073
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
ABOUT THIS BOOK
An exceptional resource, this comprehensive reader brings together primary and secondary documents related to efforts to redress historical wrongs against African Americans. These varied efforts are often grouped together under the rubric “reparations movement,” and they are united in their goal of “repairing” the injustices that have followed from the long history of slavery and Jim Crow. Yet, as this collection reveals, there is a broad range of opinions as to the form that repair might take. Some advocates of redress call for apologies; others for official acknowledgment of wrongdoing; and still others for more tangible reparations: monetary compensation, government investment in disenfranchised communities, the restitution of lost property and rights, and repatriation.
Written by activists and scholars of law, political science, African American studies, philosophy, economics, and history, the twenty-six essays include both previously published articles and pieces written specifically for this volume. Essays theorize the historical and legal bases of claims for redress; examine the history, strengths, and limitations of the reparations movement; and explore its relation to human rights and social justice movements in the United States and abroad. Other essays evaluate the movement’s primary strategies: legislation, litigation, and mobilization. While all of the contributors support the campaign for redress in one way or another, some of them engage with arguments against reparations.
Among the fifty-three primary documents included in the volume are federal, state, and municipal acts and resolutions; declarations and statements from organizations including the Black Panther Party and the NAACP; legal briefs and opinions; and findings and directives related to the provision of redress, from the Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 to the mandate for the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Redress for Historical Injustices in the United States is a thorough assessment of the past, present, and future of the modern reparations movement.
Contributors. Richard F. America, Sam Anderson, Martha Biondi, Boris L. Bittker, James Bolner, Roy L. Brooks, Michael K. Brown, Robert S. Browne, Martin Carnoy, Chiquita Collins, J. Angelo Corlett, Elliott Currie, William A. Darity, Jr., Adrienne Davis, Michael C. Dawson, Troy Duster, Dania Frank, Robert Fullinwider, Charles P. Henry, Gerald C. Horne, Robert Johnson, Jr., Robin D. G. Kelley, Jeffrey R. Kerr-Ritchie, Theodore Kornweibel, Jr., David Lyons, Michael T. Martin, Douglas S. Massey , Muntu Matsimela , C. J. Munford, Yusuf Nuruddin, Charles J. Ogletree Jr., Melvin L. Oliver, David B. Oppenheimer, Rovana Popoff, Thomas M. Shapiro, Marjorie M. Shultz, Alan Singer, David Wellman, David R. Williams, Eric K. Yamamoto, Marilyn Yaquinto
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Michael T. Martin is Professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies and Director of the Black Film Center/Archive at Indiana University. He is the editor of New Latin American Cinema and Cinemas of the Black Diaspora and a coeditor of Studies of Development and Change in the Modern World.
Marilyn Yaquinto is Assistant Professor of Communication at Truman State University. She is the author of Pump ‘Em Full of Lead: A Look at Gangsters on Film and a former journalist with the Los Angeles Times.
REVIEWS
“A truly impressive achievement in its range of approaches, depth of analysis, and variety of sources, this book should immediately become the definitive text on the subject of reparations for black Americans.”— Charles W. Mills, John Evans Professor of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy, Northwestern University
“It will be far harder to dismiss the deeply resonant and persistent demand for reparations in the wake of this remarkable collection of interdisciplinary research and historical documentation. This monumental work is ideal for teaching how history and policy intersect.”—David Roediger, Kendrick C. Babcock Professor of History, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
“For educators, this book is fundamentally useful. . . . Most helpful for the classroom, though, is the final section of primary sources. These include federal acts and resolutions, state legislation, municipal resolutions, seminal documents from activist organizations, case studies of redress, and opinions from key lawsuits. I doubt there is another work that houses these reparations-specific documents with this level of precision. Nor is there one volume with as much intellectual depth and breadth on this crucial topic.”
-- Robert Samuel Smith Journal of Southern History
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xix
On Redress for Racial Injustice / Michael T. Martin and Marilyn Yaquinto 1
Part 1. Racial Inequality and White Privilege
Racial Injustices in U.S. History and Their Legacy / David Lyons 33
Race Preferences and Race Privileges / Michael K. Brown, Martin Carnoy, Elliott Currie, Troy Duster, David B. Oppenheimer, Marjorie M. Shultz, and David Wellman 55
A Sociology of Wealth and Racial Inequality / Melvin L. Oliver and Thomas M. Shapiro 91
Part 2. Law, Citizenship, and the State
The Case for Reparations / Robert Fullinwider 121
Toward a Theory of Racial Reparations / James Bolner 134
The Constitutionality of Black Reparations / Boris L. Bittker and Roy L. Brooks 143
The Theory of Restitution: The African American Case / Richard America 160
Reparations to African Americans? / J. Angelo Corlett 170
Part 3. Reparations: Formation and Modes of Redress
"A Day of Reckoning": Dreams of Reparations / Robin D. G. Kelley 203
Forty Acres, or, An Act of Bad Faith / Jeffrey R. Kerr-Ritchie 222
The Economic Basis for Reparations to Black America / Robert S. Browne 238
The Political Economy of Ending Racism and the World Conference against Racism: The Economics of Reparations / William Darity Jr. and Dania Frank 249
The Rise of the Reparations Movement / Martha Biondi 255
Part 4. Case Studies of Injustice and Intervention
Nineteenth-Century New York City's Complicity with Slavery: Documenting the Case for Reparations / Alan Singer 275
Railroads, Race, and Reparations / Theodore Kornweibel Jr. 294
Reparations: A Viable Strategy to Address the Enigma of African American Health / David R. Williams and Chiquita Collins 305
Residential Segregation and Persistent Urban Poverty / Douglas S. Massey 331
Part 5. Mobilizing Strategies
The Politics of Racial Reparations / Charles P. Henry 353
The Case for U.S. Reparations to African Americans / Adrienne D. Davis 371
The Promises and Pitfalls of Reparations / Yusuf Nuruddin 379
Reparation as Reparations for Slavery and Jim Crow / Robert Johnson Jr. 402
What's Next? Japanese American Redress and African American Reparations / Eric K. Yamamoto 411
The Reparations Movement: An Assessment of Recent and Current Activism / Sam Anderson, Muntu Matsimela, and Yusuf Nuruddin 427
Reparations: Strategic Considerations for Black Americans / C. J. Munford 447
Tulsa Reparations: The Survivors' Story / Charles J. Ogletree Jr. 452
Race for Power: The Global Balance of Power and Reparations / Gerald Horne 469
Documents
Section 1. Federal Acts and Resolutions 485
Section 2. State Legislation 518
Section 3. Municipal Resolutions 536
Section 4. Advocacy and Activism 559
Section 5. Case Studies of Redress 637
Section 6. Lawsuits 660
Selected Bibliography 673
Contributors 683
Acknowledgment of Copyrights 687
Index 691
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
Redress for Historical Injustices in the United States: On Reparations for Slavery, Jim Crow, and Their Legacies
edited by Michael T. Martin and Marilyn Yaquinto contributions by David Lyons and Michael K. Brown
Duke University Press, 2007 eISBN: 978-0-8223-8981-1 Paper: 978-0-8223-4024-9 Cloth: 978-0-8223-4005-8
An exceptional resource, this comprehensive reader brings together primary and secondary documents related to efforts to redress historical wrongs against African Americans. These varied efforts are often grouped together under the rubric “reparations movement,” and they are united in their goal of “repairing” the injustices that have followed from the long history of slavery and Jim Crow. Yet, as this collection reveals, there is a broad range of opinions as to the form that repair might take. Some advocates of redress call for apologies; others for official acknowledgment of wrongdoing; and still others for more tangible reparations: monetary compensation, government investment in disenfranchised communities, the restitution of lost property and rights, and repatriation.
Written by activists and scholars of law, political science, African American studies, philosophy, economics, and history, the twenty-six essays include both previously published articles and pieces written specifically for this volume. Essays theorize the historical and legal bases of claims for redress; examine the history, strengths, and limitations of the reparations movement; and explore its relation to human rights and social justice movements in the United States and abroad. Other essays evaluate the movement’s primary strategies: legislation, litigation, and mobilization. While all of the contributors support the campaign for redress in one way or another, some of them engage with arguments against reparations.
Among the fifty-three primary documents included in the volume are federal, state, and municipal acts and resolutions; declarations and statements from organizations including the Black Panther Party and the NAACP; legal briefs and opinions; and findings and directives related to the provision of redress, from the Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 to the mandate for the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Redress for Historical Injustices in the United States is a thorough assessment of the past, present, and future of the modern reparations movement.
Contributors. Richard F. America, Sam Anderson, Martha Biondi, Boris L. Bittker, James Bolner, Roy L. Brooks, Michael K. Brown, Robert S. Browne, Martin Carnoy, Chiquita Collins, J. Angelo Corlett, Elliott Currie, William A. Darity, Jr., Adrienne Davis, Michael C. Dawson, Troy Duster, Dania Frank, Robert Fullinwider, Charles P. Henry, Gerald C. Horne, Robert Johnson, Jr., Robin D. G. Kelley, Jeffrey R. Kerr-Ritchie, Theodore Kornweibel, Jr., David Lyons, Michael T. Martin, Douglas S. Massey , Muntu Matsimela , C. J. Munford, Yusuf Nuruddin, Charles J. Ogletree Jr., Melvin L. Oliver, David B. Oppenheimer, Rovana Popoff, Thomas M. Shapiro, Marjorie M. Shultz, Alan Singer, David Wellman, David R. Williams, Eric K. Yamamoto, Marilyn Yaquinto
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Michael T. Martin is Professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies and Director of the Black Film Center/Archive at Indiana University. He is the editor of New Latin American Cinema and Cinemas of the Black Diaspora and a coeditor of Studies of Development and Change in the Modern World.
Marilyn Yaquinto is Assistant Professor of Communication at Truman State University. She is the author of Pump ‘Em Full of Lead: A Look at Gangsters on Film and a former journalist with the Los Angeles Times.
REVIEWS
“A truly impressive achievement in its range of approaches, depth of analysis, and variety of sources, this book should immediately become the definitive text on the subject of reparations for black Americans.”— Charles W. Mills, John Evans Professor of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy, Northwestern University
“It will be far harder to dismiss the deeply resonant and persistent demand for reparations in the wake of this remarkable collection of interdisciplinary research and historical documentation. This monumental work is ideal for teaching how history and policy intersect.”—David Roediger, Kendrick C. Babcock Professor of History, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
“For educators, this book is fundamentally useful. . . . Most helpful for the classroom, though, is the final section of primary sources. These include federal acts and resolutions, state legislation, municipal resolutions, seminal documents from activist organizations, case studies of redress, and opinions from key lawsuits. I doubt there is another work that houses these reparations-specific documents with this level of precision. Nor is there one volume with as much intellectual depth and breadth on this crucial topic.”
-- Robert Samuel Smith Journal of Southern History
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xix
On Redress for Racial Injustice / Michael T. Martin and Marilyn Yaquinto 1
Part 1. Racial Inequality and White Privilege
Racial Injustices in U.S. History and Their Legacy / David Lyons 33
Race Preferences and Race Privileges / Michael K. Brown, Martin Carnoy, Elliott Currie, Troy Duster, David B. Oppenheimer, Marjorie M. Shultz, and David Wellman 55
A Sociology of Wealth and Racial Inequality / Melvin L. Oliver and Thomas M. Shapiro 91
Part 2. Law, Citizenship, and the State
The Case for Reparations / Robert Fullinwider 121
Toward a Theory of Racial Reparations / James Bolner 134
The Constitutionality of Black Reparations / Boris L. Bittker and Roy L. Brooks 143
The Theory of Restitution: The African American Case / Richard America 160
Reparations to African Americans? / J. Angelo Corlett 170
Part 3. Reparations: Formation and Modes of Redress
"A Day of Reckoning": Dreams of Reparations / Robin D. G. Kelley 203
Forty Acres, or, An Act of Bad Faith / Jeffrey R. Kerr-Ritchie 222
The Economic Basis for Reparations to Black America / Robert S. Browne 238
The Political Economy of Ending Racism and the World Conference against Racism: The Economics of Reparations / William Darity Jr. and Dania Frank 249
The Rise of the Reparations Movement / Martha Biondi 255
Part 4. Case Studies of Injustice and Intervention
Nineteenth-Century New York City's Complicity with Slavery: Documenting the Case for Reparations / Alan Singer 275
Railroads, Race, and Reparations / Theodore Kornweibel Jr. 294
Reparations: A Viable Strategy to Address the Enigma of African American Health / David R. Williams and Chiquita Collins 305
Residential Segregation and Persistent Urban Poverty / Douglas S. Massey 331
Part 5. Mobilizing Strategies
The Politics of Racial Reparations / Charles P. Henry 353
The Case for U.S. Reparations to African Americans / Adrienne D. Davis 371
The Promises and Pitfalls of Reparations / Yusuf Nuruddin 379
Reparation as Reparations for Slavery and Jim Crow / Robert Johnson Jr. 402
What's Next? Japanese American Redress and African American Reparations / Eric K. Yamamoto 411
The Reparations Movement: An Assessment of Recent and Current Activism / Sam Anderson, Muntu Matsimela, and Yusuf Nuruddin 427
Reparations: Strategic Considerations for Black Americans / C. J. Munford 447
Tulsa Reparations: The Survivors' Story / Charles J. Ogletree Jr. 452
Race for Power: The Global Balance of Power and Reparations / Gerald Horne 469
Documents
Section 1. Federal Acts and Resolutions 485
Section 2. State Legislation 518
Section 3. Municipal Resolutions 536
Section 4. Advocacy and Activism 559
Section 5. Case Studies of Redress 637
Section 6. Lawsuits 660
Selected Bibliography 673
Contributors 683
Acknowledgment of Copyrights 687
Index 691
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
It can take 2-3 weeks for requests to be filled.
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE