John,
Reparations means repair, and encompass the full range of past and ongoing harms to Black people.
Reparations Awareness Day is about increasing awareness of the need and demand for reparations to repair the historical and ongoing damage to descendants of Africans enslaved in the United States.
For our folks, this is more than just a day of awareness. This is about never forgetting the experiences of our ancestors, and why we need to fight harder than ever to demand reparations from the government.
Despite the odds against us, we've
stayed on the come up, and continue to thrive in various aspects of life. Black women are the most educated demographic in the U.S. Just 12 years after Barack Obama made history as the first Black president, Vice President Kamala Harris became the first Black woman to hold the 2nd highest office in the country. And in the last election, Black voter turnout hit all-time highs, even electing the first Black Senator ever to Georgia.
While we have many strengths, we cannot ignore the disproportionate financial gaps. 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. We must repair not just individual injuries but also the rehabilitation of enabling institutions.
Structural discrimination will only be fully addressed through reparations, and would 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. If we don't raise our voices on this issue, the government will never be held accountable. Sign the petition demanding reparations from the government for ALL Black people 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.
When systems of white supremacy go unaddressed, we end up with various forms of harm against Black people. The lack of accountability on the U.S. government's part is why we're still seeing policies that are quite
literally made to hold Black people down.
Policing, public safety, health care, banking services, education -- all of it comes down to the same thing.
Reparations would mean the U.S. government finally taking actual accountability for its racist history, structural discrimination, and slave legacy.
We've said it many times before: Black Lives Mattering is the minimum. We deserve to thrive, not just survive. We can jumpstart this with reparations. Sign the petition demanding reparations from the government immediately.
In love and solidarity,
Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation
