The wellknown 40 acres of land (and a mule was added later) for the enslaved African came from the Union General William T. Sherman.
At the end of the Civil War, around 400,000 acres of land in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina were taken from former slave owners and earmarked for freed slaves.
However, President Andrew Johnson reversed this decision in 1865 after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
Since then, everywhere Enslaved Africans were released from hard-bondage, the demand for reparations continued to be a fight.
During the abolishments and dissembling of their institution called Slavery, however, Slavers or should we say Plantation-owners, were reimbursed for suffered damages.
They were payed considerable sums equivalent to what would amount to 1 million dollar today. Still the enslave African received nothing, nada, zilch.
In Suriname a former Dutch colony, the enslaved Africans were forced to work another 10 years to earn their freedom or, if they could afford it, had to buy themselves free, these where the so called manumissions.
The Dutch Government takes the following stance on slavery and reparations:
“Slavery was legal by law. Therefor, according to the laws of the times, slavery was not illegal and therefor no crimes were committed”.
The British Government, the most prominent of the participants in the slavetrade, said that paying reparations is a wrong way to deal with historical wrongs.
Summing up and drawing conclusions from times passed till today is this:
since the end of hard-bondage they have allowed time to pass, time that now gapes between those enduring hard-bondage, their oppressors and the governments and institution immediately profiting from our ancestors enslavement.
Making sure we, their offspring and descendants, stand on an island forcing a disconnect between then and now, us and our ancestors.
They imagine it would be impossible for us or anyone to ever gain our right to recompense and restoration. And hold them accountable for their crimes.
This subject will be revisited. What do you think would be the proper way forward?
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