reparations

Among the many issues that call into question the placid façade of American social harmony, the question of race is primary. Especially after Hurricane Katrina, racial issues are once again central to the American discourse about its social make-up. Among these issues the idea of reparations stands central in its divisiveness. For years call have been heard for Reparations to address historical injustices based on slavery and particularly the promise of “40 acres and a mule.” From academics such as Cornell West, musicians like Ice Cube and Public Enemy, and filmmakers like Spike Lee and Dave Chappelle, these calls have not come from the wild, but the center of African American public life. These calls have mostly been understood and heard strictly within African Diaspora community. In other communities, these calls have been frequently unheard, unaddressed or disregarded.


		February 1 - 28, 2007


			Among the many issues that call into question the placid façade of American social harmony, the question of race is primary. Especially after Hurricane Katrina, racial issues are once again central to the American discourse about its social make-up. Among these issues the idea of reparations stands central in its divisiveness. For years call have been heard for Reparations to address historical injustices based on slavery and particularly the promise of “40 acres and a mule.” From academics such as Cornell West, musicians like Ice Cube and Public Enemy, and filmmakers like Spike Lee and Dave Chappelle, these calls have not come from the wild, but the center of African American public life. These calls have mostly been understood and heard strictly within African Diaspora community. In other communities, these calls have been frequently unheard, unaddressed or disregarded.