Pam Y. Fields

A Problem

I was reading a Facebook post of an African American veteran explaining why he was protesting in Charlotte. There were things they were not allowed to do in the country we were at war with (shooting unarmed people) but those things were being done here in the US against US citizens.

It got me to thinking, there is a war. Racism is so imbedded in our structure as a country that it’s akin to white people being at war with black people.  That’s why with all the different “War on” – black people were targeted.  War on Crime, War on Drugs, War on Terrorism, etc.

A Solution

I was also just reading an article about the UN being concerned about the plight of African Americans here in the US. The UN committee visited the US and suggests some reparations are in order for African Americans.  They recommend this because of the history but also because the present escalation of police killings of African Americans is reminiscent of the history.

Suggestions include reparations to African-American descendants of slavery (better education, prison reform, better job opportunities and yes even, money), establish a national human rights commission and publicly acknowledge that the trans-Atlantic slave trade was a crime against humanity.

America, we have other countries looking at our atrocities.  Isn’t it time to do something about all of this.  Please feel free to contact me about joining a Unity Process group and work to begin getting to know diverse people, having healthy conversations about race, and joining in the fight.

Blessings

Pam

Excerpts from some Articles

By JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States should consider reparations to African-American descendants of slavery, establish a national human rights commission and publicly acknowledge that the trans-Atlantic slave trade was a crime against humanity, a United Nations working group said Friday.

The U.N. Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent released its preliminary recommendations after more than a week of meetings with black Americans and others from around the country, including Baltimore, Chicago, New York City, the District of Columbia and Jackson, Mississippi.

After finishing their fact-finding mission, the working group was “extremely concerned about the human rights situation of African-Americans,” chair Mireille Fanon Mendes-France of France said in the report. “The colonial history, the legacy of enslavement, racial subordination and segregation, racial terrorism and racial inequality in the U.S. remains a serious challenge as there has been no real commitment to reparations and to truth and reconciliation for people of African descent.”

For example, Mendes-France compared the recent deaths of unarmed black men like Michael Brown and Eric Garner at the hands of police to the lynchings of black men in the South from the post-Civil War days through the Civil Rights era. Those deaths, and others, have inspired protests around the country under the Black Lives Matter moniker.

Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton Same Responses on Reparations

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders caused a stir when he stated he does not support reparations for slavery on the grounds that such a program would be “very divisive” and would never pass Congress. Hillary Clinton when asked never gave a straight answer instead suggest that money be invested in funding under privileged neighborhoods . However both have a history in reparations for a certain group. Holocaust survivors. Sanders-sponsored a bill but never came up for a vote. Clinton is also on the same page as Sanders. During her husband’s administration, she was given an award by the World Jewish Congress for helping obtain reparations from the Swiss and German governments.

“Contemporary police killings and the trauma it creates are reminiscent of the racial terror lynchings in the past,” she told reporters. “Impunity for state violence has resulted in the current human rights crisis and must be addressed as a matter of urgency.”

Some of the working group’s members, none of whom are from the United States, said they were shocked by some of the things they found and were told.

For example, “it’s very easy in the United States for African-Americans to be imprisoned, and that was very concerning,” said Sabelo Gumedze of South Africa.

Federal officials say 37 percent of the state and federal prison populations were black males in 2014. The working group suggests the U.S. implement several reforms, including reducing the use of mandatory minimum laws, ending racial profiling, ending excessive bail and banning solitary confinement.

“What stands out for me is the lack of acknowledgement of the slave trade,” said Ricardo A. Sunga III, who lives in the Philippines.

The working group suggests monuments, markers and memorials be erected in the United States to facilitate dialogue, and “past injustices and crimes against African-Americans need to be addressed with reparatory justice.”

The group will suggest several U.S. changes to improve human rights for African-Americans, which also include establishing a national human rights commission, ratifying international human rights treaties, asking Congress to study slavery and its aftereffects and considering reparations .

The Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent was established in 2002 by the then-Commission on Human Rights, following the World Conference against Racism in 2001.

It also visited the United States in 2010, where its final report found similar problems, including blacks facing disproportionately high unemployment, lower income levels, less access to education, “problematic access to quality health-care services and the high incidence of certain health conditions, electoral disenfranchisement and structural issues in the administration of justice (in particular incarceration rates).”

The current panel will give its final findings to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva in September.

U.N. Experts Recommend US Reparations For Slavery

After 14 years, and 20 days of speaking with U.S. officials, activists, and families of people killed by police in major American cities, a United Nations working group is getting into the fray on U.S. racial discrimination.The group has reached the conclusion the slave trade was a crime against humanity and the U.S. government should pay reparations. A French member of the working group of U.N. experts, Mireille Fanon-Mendes-France, said after their meetings in the U.S., “Contemporary police killings and the trauma it creates are reminiscent of the racial terror lynching in the past.” The U.N. experts traveled to major cities including: Washington D.C., Baltimore, Jackson, Mississippi, Chicago, and New York City. Several years ago, both the U.S. Senate and House, in separate bills apologized for slavery and Jim Crow legislation, but were divided over the issue of reparations. the bills were never passed as law.

“What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye

Mother, mother There's too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother 
There's far too many of you dying 
You know we've got to find a way 
To bring some lovin' here today 

Father, father 
We don't need to escalate 
You see, war is not the answer 
For only love can conquer hate 
You know we've got to find a way 
To bring some lovin' here today 

Picket lines and picket signs 
Don't punish me with brutality 
Talk to me, so you can see 
What's going on

In the mean time, Right on, baby, Right on, Right on 

Mother, mother, everybody thinks we're wrong 
Oh, but who are they to judge us 
Simply because our hair is long 
Oh, you know we've got to find a way 
To bring some understanding here today 

Oh Picket lines and picket signs 
Don't punish me with brutality 
Talk to me 
So you can see 
What's going on 
Uh Right on baby, Right on baby

These lyrics ring true today.  All I can say is, if you are interested in talking to those different from you so you can see and understand better what’s going on, then The Unity Process is the place for you.  It brings diverse people together and helps them to have healthy conversations about race.  Contact me if you’re interested at pam@pamyfields.com.

Blessings