Senator Obama Opposes Reparations for Slavery

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama opposes offering reparations to the descendants of slaves, putting him at odds with some Black groups and leaders. The man with a serious chance to become the nation's first Black president argues that government should instead combat the legacy of slavery by improving schools, health care and the economy for all.

"I have said in the past — and I'll repeat again — that the best reparations we can provide are good schools in the inner city and jobs for people who are unemployed," Senator Obama said recently.

Some two dozen members of Congress are co-sponsors of legislation to create a commission that would study reparations — that is, payments and programs to make up for the damage done by slavery. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) supports the legislation, too. Cities around the country, including Senator Obama's home of Chicago, have endorsed the idea, and so has a major union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Senator Obama has worked to be seen as a candidate who will bring people together, not divide them into various interest groups with checklists of demands. Supporting reparations could undermine that image and make him appear to be pandering to Black voters. Let's not be naive. Senator Obama is running for president of the United States, not president of a specific group of citizens. Blacks make up 20 per cent of the population of the U.S. and that my friends is not enough to win the election. So he is in a constant battle to save his political life. "In light of the demographics of this country, I don't think it's realistic to expect him to do anything other than what he's done," said Kibibi Tyehimba, co-chair of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America.

There's enough flexibility in the term "reparations" that Senator Obama can oppose them and still have plenty of common ground with supporters. No two people totally agree on everything. The NAACP says reparations could take the form of government programs to help struggling people of all races. Efforts to improve schools in the inner city could also aid students in the mountains of West Virginia, said Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP's Washington bureau.

The National Urban League — a group Obama is to address Saturday — avoids the word "reparations" as too vague and highly charged. But the group advocates government action to close the gaps between White America and Black America. Urban League President Marc Morial said he expects his members to press Obama on how he intends to close those gaps and what action he would take in the first 100 days of his presidency. "What steps should we take as a nation to alleviate the effects of racial exclusion and racial discrimination?" Morial asked.

The House of Representatives voted this week to apologize for slavery. The resolution does not mention reparations, but past opponents have argued that an apology would increase pressure for concrete action. Senator Obama says an apology is appropriate but not particularly helpful in improving the lives of Black Americans. Reparations could also be a distraction, he said. "I fear that reparations would be an excuse for some to say, 'We've paid our debt,' and to avoid the much harder work."

Taking questions Sunday at a conference of minority journalists, Senator Obama said he would be willing to talk to American Indian leaders about an apology for the nation's treatment of their people. Pressed for his position on apologizing to Blacks or offering reparations, Senator Obama said he was more interested in taking action to help people struggling to get by. Because many of them are minorities, he said, that would help the same people who would stand to benefit from reparations. "If we have a program, for example, of universal health care, that will disproportionately affect people of color, because they're disproportionately uninsured," Senator Obama said. "If we've got an agenda that says every child in America should get — should be able to go to college, regardless of income, that will disproportionately affect people of color, because it's oftentimes our children who can't afford to go to college."

I disagree with Senator Obama on this subject. The U.S. government gave reparations to Japanese Americans for the way they were treated during World War II and it gave reparations to native Hawaiians for the way they were treated during the 1800s, so why don’t they give reparations to Black Americans for the way they were treated during slavery and Jim Crow laws that followed. Instead, assistance should be aimed directly at the people facing the after-effects of slavery and Jim Crow laws. Otherwise an apology is just admittance that you got caught.

House of Representatives Formally Apologizes for Slavery and Jim Crow

The United States House of Representatives issued a formal apology to Black Americans for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow segregation laws this passed Tuesday. Representative Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said, “today represents a milestone in our nation's efforts to remedy the ills of our past." The bill is H. Res. 194.

Five states have issued apologies for slavery, but past proposals in the U.S. Congress have stalled, partly over concerns that an apology would lead to demands for reparations — payment for damages.

The resolution, passed by voice vote, was the work of Tennessee Democrat Steve Cohen, the only White lawmaker to represent a majority Black district. The Cohen resolution does not mention reparations. It does commit the House to rectifying "the lingering consequences of the misdeeds committed against Blacks under slavery and Jim Crow." Cohen became the first White to represent the 60 percent Black district in Memphis in more than three decades when he captured a 2006 primary where a dozen Black candidates split the vote. He has sought to reach out to his Black constituents, and early in his term showed interest in joining the Congressional Black Caucus until learning that was against caucus rules. One of his first acts as a freshman congressman in early 2007 was to introduce the slavery apology resolution. His office said that the House resolution was brought to the floor only after learning that the Senate would be unable to join in a joint resolution. Cohen faces a formidable Black challenger, attorney Nikki Tinker, in a primary face-off next week.

It says that Africans forced into slavery "were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized and subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and heritage" and that Black Americans today continue to suffer from the consequences of slavery and Jim Crow laws that fostered discrimination and segregation.

The U.S. Congress has issued apologies before — to Japanese-Americans for their internment during World War II and to native Hawaiians for the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1893. In 2005, the Senate apologized for failing to pass anti-lynching laws. The House "apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States, for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow."

"Slavery and Jim Crow are stains upon what is the greatest nation on the face of the earth," Cohen said. Part of forming a more perfect union, he said, "is such a resolution as we have before us today where we face up to our mistakes and apologize as anyone should apologize for things that were done in the past that were wrong."

More than a dozen of the 42 Congressional Black Caucus members in the House were original co-sponsors of the measure. The caucus has not endorsed either Cohen or his chief rival, attorney Nikki Tinker, in the Memphis primary, although Cohen is backed by several senior members, including Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel. Ms. Tinker is the former campaign manager of Harold Ford, Jr., who held Cohen's seat until he stepped down in an unsuccessful run for the Senate in 2006.

Horace King from Slave to Master Builder

Horace King (aka Horace Godwin) was an architect, engineer, and bridge builder. He is considered the most respected bridge builder of the 19th century Deep South, constructing dozens of bridges in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. Born into slavery in the Cheraw District of South Carolina (present-day Chesterfield County) in 1807, King became a prominent bridge architect and construction manager in the Chattahoochee River Valley region of Alabama and Georgia. He went on to construct lattice truss bridges at every major crossing of the Chattahoochee River and over every major river in the Deep South between the Oconee and Tombigbee rivers.

King's father was half Black and half White while his mother was half Black and half Catawba Indian. Records indicate King spent his first 23 years near his birthplace, with his first introduction to bridge construction in 1824. In 1824, bridge architect Ithiel Town came to Cheraw to assist in the construction of a bridge over the Pee Dee River. While it is unknown whether King assisted in the construction of this bridge or its replacement span built in 1828, Town's lattice truss design used in both Pee Dee bridges became a hallmark of King's future work.

When King's first master, Edward King, died around 1830, King was sold to wealthy building contractor John Godwin, who also worked on the Pee Dee bridge. In 1832, Godwin received a contract to construct a 560-foot bridge across the Chattahoochee River from Columbus, Georgia into Girard, Alabama (today Phenix City). He and King moved to Girard that year to work on the project, which was completed in 1833. This bridge was the first known to be built by King, who planned the construction of the bridge and managed the slave laborers who built the span.

Between the completion of the "Godwin-King Bridge" in 1833 and the early 1840s, King and Godwin partnered on at least eight major construction projects throughout the South. The partners constructed some forty cotton warehouses in Apalachicola, Florida in 1834, the courthouses of Muscogee County, Georgia and Russell County, Alabama from 1839-1841, and bridges in West Point, Georgia (1838), Eufaula, Alabama (1838-39), Florence, Georgia (1840), and Columbus (1841), replacing their original span which had been destroyed in a flood in 1838. By 1840, King was being publicly acknowledged as being a "co-builder" along with his master, an uncommon honor for a slave. In the 1840s, King's prominence eclipsed that of his master, and he worked independently as architect and superintendent of major bridge projects in Wetumpka, Alabama and Columbus, Mississippi. While working on the Eufaula bridge, King met Tuscaloosa attorney and entrepreneur Robert Jemison, Jr., who soon began using King on a number of different projects in Lowndes County, Mississippi, including the 420-foot Columbus, Mississippi bridge, and who would remain King's friend and associate for the rest of his life.

Despite his enslavement, King was allowed a significant income from his work and, in 1846, used some of his earnings to purchase his freedom from Godwin. However, under Alabama law of the time, a freed slave was only allowed to remain in the state for a year after manumission. Robert Jemison, who served in the Alabama State Senate, arranged for the state legislature to pass a special law giving King his freedom and exempting him from the manumission law. In 1852, King used this freedom to purchase land near his former master.

In 1849, the Alabama State Capitol burned, and King was hired to construct the framework of the new capitol building, as well as design and build the double spiral entry staircases. King used his knowledge of bridge-building to cantilever the stairs' support beams so that the staircases appeared to "float", without any central support.

Around 1855, King formed a partnership with two other men to construct a bridge, known as "Moore's Bridge" over the Chattahoochee River between Newnan and Carrollton, Georgia, near Whitesburg. Instead of collecting a fee for his work, King took stock instead, gaining a one-third interest in the bridge. King soon moved his family to Carroll County, adjacent to the bridge, though continued to maintain his home in Girard. The income from Moore's bridge allowed King a steady income, though he continued to design and construct major bridge projects through the remainder of the 1850s, including a major bridge in Milledgeville, Georgia and a second Chattahoochee crossing in Columbus, Georgia.

As the U.S. Civil War approached in 1860, King, like many Blacks in the South, opposed secession of the Southern states and was a confirmed Unionist. After the outbreak of hostilities, King attempted to continue his business as an architect and builder, constructing a factory and a mill in Coweta County, Georgia and a bridge in Columbus, Georgia. While working on the Columbus bridge, King was conscripted by Confederate authorities to build obstructions in the Apalachicola River, 200 miles south of Columbus to prevent a naval attack on that city. After completing the obstructions on the Apalachicola, King was tasked to construct defenses on the Alabama River before returning to Columbus in 1863. By this time, Columbus had become a major shipbuilding city for the Confederacy, and King and his men were assigned to assist construction of naval vessels at the Columbus Iron Works and Navy Yard. In 1863-64, King constructed a rolling mill for the Iron Works, providing cladding for Confederate ironclad warships. King's crews also provided lumber and timbers for the Navy Yard, and was at least peripherally involved with the construction of the CSS Muscogee. As the war approached its end in 1864, many of King's bridges were destroyed by Union troops, including Moore's Bridge, which King owned. Raiders under Union general James H. Wilson assaulted Columbus in April of 1865, burning all of King's bridges in the city, including the one he had finished less than two years earlier.

The destruction of the war led to new opportunities for King and made him one of the wealthiest Black men in the South. Within six months after the war's end, King and a partner had constructed a 32,000 square foot cotton warehouse in Columbus and King, for the third time, rebuilt the original Godwin-King bridge. Over the next three years, King would construct three more bridges across the Chattahoochee in Columbus rivers, a major bridge in West Point, Georgia, two large factories, and the Lee County, Alabama courthouse.

When the Reconstruction Acts were implemented in 1867, King became a registrar for voters in Russell County, Alabama. Later that year, he attempted to establish a colony of freedmen in Georgia. While that plan was unsuccessful, King went on to be elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 1868 as a Republican representing Russell County. King, though, busy in his construction business in Columbus, did not take his seat until over a year later, in November of 1869. King was reelected in 1870. King did not seek reelection in 1872.

After King left the Alabama legislature in 1872, he moved to LaGrange, Georgia. While in LaGrange, King continued building bridges, but also expanded to include other construction projects, specifically businesses and schools. By the mid-1870s, King had begun to pass his bridge construction activities to his five children, who formed the King Brothers Bridge Company. He died on May 28, 1885 in LaGrange. King received laudatory obituaries in each of Georgia's major newspapers, a rarity for Blacks in the 1880s South. King was posthumously inducted into the Alabama Engineers Hall of Fame at the University of Alabama. The award was accepted on his behalf by his great grandson, Horace H. King Jr. He was remembered both for his engineering skill and for his character and ability to bridge the gap between the races.

Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park

Allen Allensworth was born a slave in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1842. At the age of 12, he was "sold down river" for trying to learn to read and write. After some trading by slave dealers, he was taken to New Orleans, and bought by a slaveholder to become a jockey. The Civil War started, and when the Union forces neared Louisville, Allensworth found his chance for freedom. He joined the Navy and when he was discharged, he had achieved the rank of first class petty officer. In 1871, he was ordained as a Baptist minister and entered the Baptist Theological Institute at Nashville. While serving at the Union Baptist Church in Cincinnati, he learned of the need for Black chaplains in the armed services, and got an appointment as Chaplain of the Black 24th Infantry Buffalo Soldiers.

He had seen many Black people move west after the Civil War to escape discrimination. He teamed up with a gifted Black teacher named William Payne three other men with similar vision, Allensworth decided to establish a place where Black people could live and thrive without oppression. On June 30, 1908, they formed the California Colony Home Promoting Association. They selected an area in Tulare County because it was fertile, there was plenty of water, and the land was available and inexpensive. In August 1908 Colonel Allen Allensworth and the other settlers established a town founded, financed and governed by Blacks. They first bought 20 acres, and later, 80 more. Their dream of developing an abundant and thriving community stemmed directly from a strong belief in programs that allowed Blacks to help themselves create better lives. By 1910 Allensworth’s success was the focus of many national newspaper articles praising the town and its inhabitants. The little town with a big vision grew rapidly for several years -- to more than 200 inhabitants, by 1914. That same year Allensworth became a voting precinct and a judicial district. Colonel Allensworth was killed on September 14, 1914, when hit by a motorcycle, while getting off a streetcar in Monrovia, California. After a funeral at the Second Baptist Church in Los Angeles, he was buried with full military honors.

An unavoidable set of circumstances made it impossible for the residents of this tiny town located 30 miles north of Bakersfield to achieve their founders’ dreams over the long term. But the town did remain home to a handful of families and individuals throughout the 20th century, and true to the courage and resolve of its founders, the town has survived and persevered, earning the well-deserved title “The town that refused to die.” Since most of the water for Allensworth farming had to come underground from the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and there were many other farms and communities between the mountains and Allensworth, the water supply for the town and farms began to dry up. The next blow was the Great Depression that hit the whole country in the early 1930s. Public services began to shut down, and many residents moved to the cities to look for work. The Post Office closed in 1931. By the 1940s, most of the residents were migratory farm workers, and the population was mainly a mixture of Blacks and Hispanics. Housing deteriorated, as most of the people didn't consider Allensworth their permanent home. The population had shrunk to 90, in 1972, and later dropped to almost zero.

A drive began in the early 1970s to save the town of Allensworth. In 1974 California State Parks purchased land within the historical town site of Allensworth, and it became Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park. Allensworth would be an historic monument and public park dedicated to the memory and spirit of Colonel Allensworth as well as a place to note the achievements and contributions of Blacks to the history and development of California. In 1976, when the town site became a state historic park, restorations began, and plans began for further preservation, restoration, and reconstruction, and for interpretation of the history of Allensworth. Today a collection of lovingly restored and reconstructed early 20th-century buildings, including Allensworth’s the Colonel ’s Allensworth's residence, furnished in the 1912 period; the historic schoolhouse, which was still in use until 1972 and is furnished as it would have been on a school day in 1915; the Baptist church; and the Mary Dickenson library. It contains items from the colonel's life in the service and the ministry. There is also a small display of farm equipment as a reminder of the Allensworth economic base. With continuing restoration and special events, the town is coming back to life as a state historic park. The park’s visitor center features a film about the site. A yearly rededication ceremony reaffirms the vision of the pioneers.

In 2008 California State Parks is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of this unique town dedicated to the dignity of the human spirit. There you can learn about Colonel Allen Allensworth and the courageous group of families and individuals who created their own version of the “American Dream.” You can experience the inspiring story of the people who came to an isolated spot in the southern San Joaquin Valley to build a place of their own—a place where hard work, dedication, and faith would allow them and their children the opportunity to control their own discrimination-free destiny. There are volunteers and guides leading tours and recreating the historic atmosphere of the early 1900s. There was a Black History Month Celebration in February, an Old Time Jubilee in May, a Juneteenth Celebration, and the annual Town Rededication in October. One other exciting aspect of the centennial celebration is the creation of a traveling exhibit that is circulating throughout California before coming to the park for Rededication Day in October. Entitled “Allensworth: 100 Years of the California Dream,” the exhibit will showcase the park and demonstrate its impact throughout the state. The Exhibit is on display at the San Bernardino Government Center April 4 through 30, and at the California African American Museum May 1 through October 3).


The park is 30 miles north of Bakersfield; 20 miles north of Wasco on Highway 43; seven miles west of Earlimart on County Road J22.