John,
This week marked 100 years since the state-sponsored bombing of what was known as Black Wall Street. The Tulsa Massacre was an organized mob attack driven by white supremacy. That white supremacy is at the root of systemic racism that
still thrives today.
But we're done allowing white supremacy to thrive, and we're past the point of “justice.” Our demand for the people of Tulsa -- and for all Black people -- is reparations.
Black people in the U.S. have been forced to grapple with structural discrimination -- experiencing the highest rates of poverty, unemployment, low wages, health disparities, incarceration inequities, and so much more.
This is a direct result of centuries of anti-Black policies and practices and violent white mob attacks on Black communities. Without reparations, the structural discrimination that purposely holds Black people back will continue to thrive -- it's something we simply refuse to accept. Reparations directly address the legacy of slavery, acts of violence like the Tulsa Massacre, and decade after decade of discrimination that we still deal with today.
Reparations encompass the full range of past and ongoing harms to Black people. Together, we can get the reparations that the millions of Black people in this country have long deserved -- sign the petition demanding reparations from the government NOW >>
The first demands for reparations were made by enslaved people in the pre-Civil War era, and since emancipation there have been long-standing movements demanding reparations throughout the U.S., the Caribbean, Africa, and the Diaspora.
Now, we're continuing to demand reparations -- for the people of Tulsa. For all Black people. Because for too long, we've been forced to face systems of oppression and racial discrimination in every sphere.
From Jim Crow policies to the War on Drugs all the way to the present, strategic systemic racism has impacted all Black people in the U.S. -- not just those whose ancestors were enslaved.
Reparations are owed, in forms and manners, to be determined by Black people in the U.S. It's on us to raise our voices and demand action immediately. If you agree, sign our petition in the fight for reparations that are long overdue.
In love and solidarity,
Black Lives Matter Grassroots
