John,
In 1912, Charles and Willa Bruce, a Black couple, purchased beachfront property in Southern California and turned it into a resort open to Black customers. But in the 1920s, the land was taken from them and absorbed into the city of Manhattan Beach. Now, 109 years later, thanks to decades of advocacy, new California legislation is returning the $75 million property to the Bruce descendants!
This is one of the many, long overdue forms of reparations. While this was a form of reparations via property, it puts an emphasis on exactly why we need monetized reparations for all Black people.
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 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 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 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 Global Network Foundation
