Show Me The Money

Show Me The Money
by Linda A. Prussen-Razzano

Anyone even remotely familiar with American history understands that black Americans have long suffered, as a collective group, under the weight of prejudice. Despite the fact that the first black Americans to arrive on our new shores in the early 1600s were considered indentured servants, the term "slave" was popularly recognized to mean "human chattel" within a scant 50 years. It would take another 300 years before black Americans were afforded a semblance of equal treatment in the eyes of the law.

The ability of black Americans to rise above the horrific and abysmal treatment of their ancestors is a testament to their character and integrity as a race. The fact that thousands join the ranks of successful business owners on a continual basis reflects a budding, but still tentative, growth in the American psyche. We are, finally, starting to see each other as individuals; a welcome change from our recent and deplorable past.

There is still much work to be done, on both sides, towards racial harmony and reconciliation. Sadly, the bill introduced by Rep. John Conyers for slavery reparations is the equivalent of ripping a scab off a deep and pussy wound.

If we are going to explore all the ugly avenues of history, and hold accountable the sons and daughters for the sins of the fathers, then almost every government in the world can expect to be dragged into court for past transgressions.

According to my family tree, my maternal grandmother allegedly descended from French nobility. It is my understanding our ancestor lost his home and lands during one of the bloody outbreaks preceding the French Revolution. May I now petition the French Government for redress of this grievance? Can I kick the current occupants out of my family’s castle and claim it as mine by right of birth, based upon the sketchy memory of my Grandmother?

My maternal Grandfather’s family came from Ireland. Their socio-economic standing is shrouded in mystery; they might have been Princes, they might have been paupers. Nonetheless, history clearly shows that the English raped Ireland of her resources, her wealth, and her people. Swift’s "Modest Proposal" speaks clearly of the desecration Ireland suffered under English hands. May I now petition the Queen for redress of this grievance, too?

My paternal Grandparents both came from the farms of Moorasmoor, Germany. Even though they escaped Germany before Hitler came to power, am I, as their descendant, obligated to pay reparations to the Jews, Gypsies, Poles, and other groups who were slaughtered, wholesale, under Hitler’s vicious regime? Seems I need to start saving now, just in case.

I can always defer my portion of the reparations to my husband. His mother’s family came from Poland. Whatever funds we receive from his lawsuit against the German government can be used to pay my share of the reparations owed by Germany. Then again, his father’s family was from Italy, an ally of Germany during World War II. Perhaps he could just pay himself and call it even. I’ll have to find another way.

Lost in all of this is the reality that no one in my immediate family owned a slave. Despite our lack of intimate, first-hand knowledge about slavery, we were not immune to the evils of prejudice. When my Grandparents arrived from Germany, they were treated as outcasts. My paternal Grandfather took the only line of work offered to him, digging graves. The KKK hounded my maternal Grandfather; they did not approve of an Irish Catholic dating my Protestant Grandmother.

I haven’t even considered those who were persecuted for religious reasons. As a person who was baptized Methodist, raised Lutheran, and married Catholic, I’m sure I could exploit some group somewhere for the trials my ancestors suffered at their hands.

Perhaps my family could just settle things locally. My mother and father once owned a lovely home on Roosevelt, New York. My mother, my Grandparents, my husband’s mother, and his Grandparents had all, at one time, lived in Roosevelt. After the Block Busters came, they were eventually forced out of Roosevelt because they were no longer the correct color. My brothers were repeatedly beaten on their way to school. Bricks were thrown through their windows. Given this obvious discrimination and malice, we could all simply sue the City of Roosevelt for our portion of any future reparations.

Representative Conyers may honestly believe that "reparations" will heal the wounds of the past, but in fact the opposite is true. He is asking us to revisit a time when we saw, specifically, the color of a person’s skin, not the person as an individual. He is promoting a vision of the world as it was, not as it ought to be.

Finally, everyone, and I do mean everyone, should start squirreling away some extra dollars right now for the American Indians. When all is said and done, they should easily become the wealthiest people in America. Remember, they were here before any of us.