The Betrayal Within: Black Congressional Leaders, Democrats and Organizations Undermining Grassroots Reparations Efforts For Descendants of American Chattel Slavery
To all the dedicated activists fighting for lineage based reparations, our struggle isn’t over yet. The recent setbacks in California’s reparations efforts show just how tough this fight is and will be. Despite years of grassroots advocacy and the establishment of the California Reparations Task Force, key bills like SB 1403 and SB 1331 failed to pass. These bills aimed to create a state agency to manage reparations programs and establish a dedicated fund for reparations efforts. But last-minute amendments and political maneuvering, including pressure from Governor Newsom’s office, derailed these critical initiatives.
In Detroit, the reparations movement has faced significant hurdles too. The Detroit Reparations Taskforce, established with overwhelming voter support in a nearly 80% Black city, aims to address historical inequities related to housing, wealth, and economic development. However, the task force has been plagued by vacancies, infighting, and slow progress. Members have resigned due to frustrations over transparency and the direction of the task force. Despite these setbacks, the Detroit grassroots looks to California as a blueprint, learning from its challenges, victories and striving to avoid the same pitfalls.
What’s really surprising and disheartening is that some of the strongest opposition comes from “Black faces in high places” who seem more focused on securing their positions than advancing our justice claim. For instance, the California Legislative Black Caucus recently blocked crucial reparations bills, prioritizing their own interests over those of their constituents. This kind of internal opposition is a significant obstacle to achieving meaningful progress.
And let’s not forget, in January, the NAACP called the police on Black Americans who were peacefully advocating for MLK’s message of reparations at an event in Charlotte. This is the same organization that donated to BLM to fight police brutality, yet they ironically called the cops on Black Americans. Our biggest opposition so far has been people who look like us and are supposed to represent our interests. Black groups, Democrats and Black Congressional leaders have lost the plot. Lawmakers even went as far as mocking and moving protesters who were advocating for reparations. This is a painful reminder that even with representation, our needs can be sidelined by political agendas and corporate interests.
Adding to this, Urban League President Marc Morial recently formalized his opposition to grassroots lineage-based reparations groups in a memo to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Morial’s stance against disaggregating data for Native Black Americans highlights the deep divisions within the approach to achieving reparations.
The optics of Black leaders acting like overseers on a plantation, doing the bidding of their masters—whether they be groups with cold feet about reparations or corporate entities lobbying privately against our efforts—is a harsh reality we must confront.
We see Black leaders and organizations playing both sides, publicly saying they support reparations while undermining grassroots efforts behind the scenes. This betrayal will not go unnoticed. We will name, shame, and vote out those who fail to stand with us. We see the actions and inactions of Black leaders on reparations, engaging in a policy of benign neglect towards their own people while advancing the interests and agendas of others, including non-citizens. Make no mistake that the grassroots will hold these leaders accountable.
We have to keep holding these organizations and leaders accountable and push for meaningful change. America's multigenerational story of slavery, racial terror, and discrimination has created a legacy of racism that shows up in our bank accounts. Black Americans’ issue isn't about restoring its middle class, but constructing a robust middle class in the first place.
The grassroots STILL has the power to create change and influence the process. It’s time for Black Democrats and legacy civil rights organizations that claim to represent us to take action and advocate for our justice claim. Justice is long overdue, and make no mistake, this is a justice claim with a compelling debt owed to a specific lineage in this country.
Grassroots let us continue to work together in the spirit of our fighting ancestors before us to collect the debt that is owed and that is rightfully ours.
Peace and reparations.
