Reparations revisited

A lawsuit filed in federal district court last Tuesday has reopened one of the most troubling chapters in America's history. The plaintiff's chief complainant, Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, is suing Aetna Inc., CSX Railroad and Fleet-Boston Financial Corp. for once profiting from unpaid slave labor. The class-action lawsuit is seeking reparations for the 35 million descendants of African slaves, giving new meaning to the term "frivolous lawsuit." \nThe corporations named in the suit are the same as those that allegedly profited from the institution of slavery in name only. None of the owners, employees or managers now operating these companies are responsible for the actions of their predecessors. Just as a person cannot be sued for an offense committed by a stranger, owners of Aetna Inc., CSX Railroad and Fleet-Boston Financial Corp. cannot be held liable for the actions of strangers who profited from slavery more than 135 years ago.\nEven if they could be, profiting from slave labor was not a crime; it was a legally sanctioned institution. In filing their lawsuit, the plaintiffs have asked the courts to retroactively apply the current U.S. prohibition against slavery to corporate owners and employees who hadn't even been born at the time of the offense. \nProponents of corporate responsibility for slavery often cite reparations claims paid to German survivors of the Holocaust to strengthen their case. There is a crucial difference between reparations for victims of Nazi persecution and descendants of African slaves: survivors. There are living survivors of the German concentration camps to compensate. There are no living former slaves.\nA ruling for the plaintiffs would require the courts to compensate descendants of slaves generations removed from the Black Americans that actually suffered under institutionalized slavery prior to 1865. \nPayments derived from corporations for an offense they did not commit and compensation to millions of Black Americans for a painful time in American history that they did not endure is not a strong case for corporate reparations. \nOf course, reparations advocates know their case will likely be thrown out of court. Under the guidance of the Reparations Coordinating Committee, a group of high-powered lawyers and historians, the plaintiffs are only using the case to raise awareness of their cause in preparation for a future lawsuit seeking reparations from the U.S. government. \nClaims for reparations from the government do not withstand scrutiny either. It is true that America as a whole has benefited economically from slavery. But claims against the government would also require payment from those who were neither party to its creation, nor responsible for its longevity. \nDespite this fact, millions of Americans have already voluntarily paid reparations for slavery. Billions of dollars in welfare payments, which have benefited many Americans, including those in the black community, have been and continue to be funded by U.S. taxpayers. Race-based preferences for government employment, contracting and higher education have also been employed to compensate Black Americans for the injustices they were once forced to endure at the hands of generations past.\nWhile the most recent corporate reparations case will likely be thrown out of court, the larger reparations debate will undoubtedly live on.\nThe Coordinating Committee will eventually seek additional claims against the U.S. government, but there they are likely to fail as well. Black Americans have overcome what must have, at times, seemed like insurmountable odds to achieve a level of success that many may have once thought unattainable. One can only imagine how much further along we would all be today if their energy spent focused on the past were instead turned and used to make way for a better future.