Reparations Revisited

When Our Questions Reveal Our Subconscious Roadblocks

A couple of weeks back I offered an argument that reparations are a mandate for people who call themselves Christians. We considered the story of Zacchaeus as an example of how Christ-followers act when they realize they have taken advantage of others. If you haven’t read it, you can do so here, and probably should to be able to follow along in this article. I implied, if not outright stated that if a person considers the United States to be a Christian nation, then that person would also support US government policy in favor of Reparations, particularly when it comes to the descendants of formerly enslaved people in the country.

From what I can tell, the Zacchaeus comparison was understood and well received. However, I received some questions about my comparison of enslaved people in the United States to the exiled Hebrew Nation which received prophetic words in the Biblical scriptures as found in Jeremiah, specifically Jeremiah 29:10 and 11. The questions demanded more than a few quick answers, so I’m going to address them here.

It's intriguing how our questions can unfold a narrative on their own. When we pose a question, the choice of words can unintentionally reveal glimpses of the questioner's perspective.

This can at times be awkward which, admittedly, is a bit like how I’m feeling today. I trust my explanation will be taken in the spirit with which I offer it.

What happened was partly my fault for making assumptions. I should have explained my position better. Consider the following quote from my article:

…It occurred to me that the “For I know the plans I have for you…” portion of Jeremiah was written (or spoken) to a group of people in bondage in Babylon. I mean, if there’s any people it’s directly applicable to a [couple several] … millennia later, it isn’t me. From an American History standpoint, the parallel is obvious, isn’t it?

It looks like it wasn’t as obvious as I thought, and resulted in the following questions:

Question: I got a little confused by your back and forth about the verse Jer[emiah] 29:11… So, are we responsible as a nation... or individuals? If that verse was written for a Nation and that nation was in slavery, the verse says nothing about God’s plans for them including reparations. If that verse is about just the nation, the nation in reference is God's nation. Israel. The United States is not Israel and nor are we under that type relationship with him as a nation.

Answer: First, as to whether we are to respond as individuals or as a nation – Yes, both. Our response as an individual would be to support legislative policy to make Reparations the way of the United States government.

However, the questioner has misunderstood the players in the Biblical comparison. Specifically, they misunderstood God’s role in the bondage relationship. For clarity, let me break down the characters in the comparison.

Those in bondage (or, the harmed parties):

The ancient context: God’s people, or the Hebrew Nation¹.
The United States context: Enslaved African people.

The oppressors (or, those owing reparations to the harmed parties):

The ancient context: Babylon

The United States context: The United States Government (the nation), which is a republic and thus represents the policy of its people (the individuals).

Question: So, who is responsible for said reparations? Individual Christians or our Nation?

Answer: Again, individual Christians who are citizens of a country with a history of chattel slavery should participate in the republic in a way which would provide reparations for the evil policy of the past. This way would begin with voting for reparation policy.

Question: What about those Christians who fought against slavery?

Answer: It was the right thing to do. Dying in an effort to liberate people is the most Christ-like action ever. However, it seems entirely appropriate to mention the fact that there were also Christians who fought to uphold a state’s right to enslave people.

Question: Where does this stop, as tribes of Africans were also part of the slave trade. Do we get reparations from them?

Answer: If you look back to the Zacchaeus story, he took care of his own wrongdoing. He didn’t point fingers at other parties and say, “What about them?” He was concerned with setting his own actions straight. I’m not certain about the value systems of the African tribes who participated in the slave trade. But their modern contemporaries are certainly not answerable to the United States’ government, and I won't make any claims about holding them accountable. Let’s remove the plank from our own eye.

Further, I can’t skim past the use of the word, “we.” Nobody owes me any Reparations. I was never enslaved and don’t have any DNA of people who were. On the contrary, my ancestors owned other people.

Question: Is this just about money or is about what we as Christians can do to fight against racism? Both?

Answer: This is a fair question. I believe the answer is, “not entirely.” It will cost money, for sure. Trillions of dollars, probably. But it’s not a payoff. It can’t be. It’s a heartfelt, apologetic gesture of goodwill which is a sign of our genuine remorse and desire to make things right. The end goal is to bring healing to a relationship between the American Government and a group of people it allowed to be subjugated and then trampled in the decades since. It is about fairness and equality. It’s about saying “we’re sorry,” and then taking action to prove it.

Throughout the country, Reparations are beginning to pick up support on a local level. For more information on what the process might look like, consider taking some time to examine the work being done by the National African-American Reparations Committee. A thorough read will show this is about much more than money, and will benefit our country as a whole.

1. I’m reticent to use the name “Israel” in regards to the people in bondage. The Israel of the Old Testament is a bit misleading. It certainly isn’t the same as the Israel we have today. For this discussion, I have referred to them as the “Hebrew Nation.”