Democratic Primaries
Related: About this forumUS elections 2020 Slavery reparations: where do Democratic 2020 candidates stand?
US elections 2020Slavery reparations: where do Democratic 2020 candidates stand?
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/21/reparations-slavery-2020-democratic-candidates
The renewed Democratic debate over how to heal the legacy of slavery
Should the US pay reparations to the descendants of slaves? The issue has been debated for years, but has now become a matter of discussion among the candidates vying for the Democratic partys nomination for the 2020 presidential election. Heres where they stand on the matter, so far:
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Kamala Harris, California senator
Position? Noncommittal.
What she has said: I think that the word, the term reparations, it means different things to different people. But what I mean by it is that we need to study the effects of generations of discrimination and institutional racism and determine what can be done, in terms of intervention, to correct course.
Julián Castro, former San Antonio mayor
Position? Tentative support.
What he has said: If under the constitution we compensate people because we take their property, why wouldnt you compensate people who actually were property.
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The Cases For Reparations: How 2020 Presidential Candidates Address The Issue
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2019/03/21/reparations-slavery-democratic-presidential-candidates-democrats
Nineteenth century bilboes for a child, front, and an adult, typically found on slave ships, are displayed at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
Democratic presidential hopefuls are talking about reparations for slavery. Theyre talking seriously, but with few specifics. What would a reparations policy actually look like?
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Why this discussion is so important:
The New Lynching Memorial and Legacy Museum Force Us to Bear Witness to Our Whole American Truth
https://www.theroot.com/the-new-lynching-memorial-and-museum-forces-us-to-bear-1825529717
The New Lynching Memorial and Legacy Museum Force Us to Bear Witness to Our Whole American Truth.
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Read More About it Here:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/128737642
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Thanks for posting this in the Primaries forum. Very appropriate info that voters can use to compare and contrast the candidates.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Me.
(35,454 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
ucrdem
(15,512 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
redstateblues
(10,565 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
ucrdem
(15,512 posts)to every descendant of slavery, or better to every POC. It's not really a lot of money but symbolically it would make a powerful statement. Of course Trump would campaign against it and what effect would that have? His rabid base would do what they did last time but our base would be motivated to vote in record numbers.
Anyway that's just one of several scenarios and they all break in our favor.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
redstateblues
(10,565 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Eliot Rosewater
(31,106 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
still_one
(92,061 posts)For example, how do you determine the amount, and how many generations of descendants of slaves would be entitled to reparations. Would a child born today be eligible for example?
Kamala Harris I think has the most pragmatic approach, and actually was one of the objectives of Affirmative Action, which has slowly been whittled down through the years.
This will also open up a lot of similar issues, Japanese American internment, Native Americans, etc.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
marlakay
(11,432 posts)A small amount per person isnt going to change their lives, to me a steady income of 40-50K a year would, but how could the country afford that? Lower military? I cant see that ever happening.
Pete says the answer is to help more with buying a house but what if you cant afford the mortgage?
I am totally for trying to figure it out but how is the question with a good part of the country still racist.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Polybius
(15,337 posts)That would be way more than we could afford. Or do you mean a one time payment of $40-50k per African American? That would be much more doable.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
still_one
(92,061 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
BlueFlorida
(1,532 posts)It puts the reparations in perspective and with a focus.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Autumn
(44,986 posts)Coates: You think we could catch up?
Obama: We were able to make sure that it stayed fair for a long time and that children going forward were not encumbered by some of that same bias of the past, I think it would not take long at all, because we are a talented, resourceful people. Just play this out as a thought experiment: Imagine if you had genuine, high-quality early-childhood education for every child, and suddenly every black child in Americabut also every poor white child or Latino [child], but just stick with every black child in Americais getting a really good education. And theyre graduating from high school at the same rates that whites are, and they are going to college at the same rates that whites are, and they are able to afford college at the same rates because the government has universal programs that say that youre not going to be barred from school just because of how much money your parents have. So now theyre all graduating. And lets also say that the Justice Department and the courts are making sure, as Ive said in a speech before, that when Jamal sends his résumé in, hes getting treated the same as when Johnny sends his résumé in.
ow, are we going to have suddenly the same number of CEOs, billionaires, etc., as the white community? In 10 years? Probably not, maybe not even in 20 years. But I guarantee you that we would be thriving, we would be succeeding. We wouldnt have huge numbers of young African American men in jail. Wed have more family formation as college-graduated girls are meeting boys who are their peers, which then in turn means the next generation of kids are growing up that much better. And suddenly youve got a whole generation thats in a position to start using the incredible creativity that we see in music, and sports, and frankly even on the streets, channeled into starting all kinds of businesses. I feel pretty good about our odds in that situation.
And my point has always been: Were so far from that. Why are we even having the abstract conversation when weve got a big fight on our hands just to get strong, universal antipoverty programs and social programs in place, and were still fighting to make sure that basic antidiscrimination laws are enforced, not just at the federal level, by the way, but throughout government and throughout the private sector? And those are fights that we can win becauseand this is where I do believe America has changedthe majority, not by any means 100 percent, but the majority of Americans believe in the idea of nondiscrimination. They believe in the idea that Jamal and Johnny should be treated equally. They believe in the idea that a child shouldnt be consigned to poverty just because of circumstances of their birth. Now, in practice, in daily social interactions, etc., there may be all kinds of biases and prejudices that are unspoken, that people arent aware of, that affect whos hired, and who gets loans, and how kids are treated in school. But its a powerful thing if you have on your side an idea that the overwhelming majority of people believe in because thats how you can build a consensus thats lasting. And thats how you avoid an argument that Im being treated unfairly because you are treating somebody differently than me. Everybody potentially can make the claim that we should all be treated fairly. As opposed to getting into arguments about, well, these folks have been treated fairly so now were going to be doing things that, very easily in the minds of a lot Americans feel like, Now Im being treated unfairly.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
McCamy Taylor
(19,240 posts)Maybe Europe would like th make reparations to Africa for the way they partitioned it?
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
themaguffin
(3,822 posts)it shouldn't be a 2020 "issue."
This will not politically help Democrats. This is a political election.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
brooklynite
(94,384 posts)This should have nothing to do with the Presidential Election.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden