The Debt : What America Owes to Blacks

Randall Robinson, the founder and president of TransAfrica (a lobbying organization dedicated to influencing U.S. policy toward Africa and the Caribbean), recounted his heroic struggle to fight and overcome racism in the magnificent Defending the Spirit . In his triumphant follow-up, The Debt , he goes further than any previous black public figure in calling for reparations to African-Americans for the present-day racism that stems from 246 years of slavery. Citing compensation that Jews and Japanese Americans have received, he writes, "No race, ethnic or religious group has suffered as much over so long a span as blacks have and do still, at the hands of those who benefited ... from slavery and the century of legalized American racial hostility that followed it." In making his case, Robinson utilizes facts and figures that highlight the disparity between African-Americans and whites. While fully recognizing the monumental odds of this movement's success, Robinson feels that the push for reparations will also greatly benefit African-Americans in nonmaterial ways: "Even the making of a well-reasoned case for restitution will do wonders for the spirit of African-Americans," he argues. "It will cause them to at long last understand the genesis of their history--before, during, and after slavery--into one story of themselves." --Eugene Holley Jr. From Publishers Weekly As founder and president of TransAfrica, an organization aimed at influencing U.S. policies toward Africa and the Caribbean, Robinson can be said to have contributed to the antiapartheid movement and the restoration of democracy in Haiti. Having vividly outlined the pervasiveness of American racism in his previous work, Defending the Spirit, he now summons America to acknowledge what he casts as its financial obligation to blacks for centuries of slavery and continued subjugation. Substantiating his analysis of America's ignorance of African history and the agenda of the Clinton administration with personal stories that illustrate the impact of de facto discrimination, he reveals slavery's legacy not only in our social and political lives, but also in the American psyche. In Robinson's view, the incessant deification of the founding fathers (many of whom owned slaves) and the denial of the benefits gained from centuries of slave labor are, in effect, an attempt to pretend "that America's racial holocaust never occurred." Juxtaposing domestic racism with the sufferings of people abroad, he contends that America's dubious foreign policy initiatives in Cuba and throughout the black world should be mitigated through debt relief. Methodically tackling one issue at a time, Robinson suggests the creation of a trust to assist in the educational and economic empowerment of African-Americans. Whether readers agree or disagree with his views, Robinson has made a definitive step in presenting these controversial and still unresolved issues. Book club rights sold to Doubleday/Black Expressions; author tour. (Jan.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal The title of this book shouldn't deter perspective readers: Robinson (founder and president of TransAfrica) dedicates only one of the ten chapters to a discussion of reparations. And his ideas about reparations are unconventional: it's true, he writes, that there is a precedent for paying reparations to the victims of history. But even just starting a national conversation about reparations, he suggests, would be useful--such a discussion would bring U.S. racial atrocities to the surface, make blacks aware that something has been taken from them through no fault of their own, and launch a critical mass of blacks "into a surge of black self-discovery." In the remainder of the book Robinson discusses his disappointment with the quantity and quality of black political participation and the long-term economic and psychic damage brought on by slavery, Jim Crow, blacks' lost African past, and unequal U.S. foreign and domestic policies. Robinson's political experience and readable prose should make the book appealing to a wide audience. For public and academic libraries.--. -Sherri Barnes, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Booklist Virulently conservative politics has left a lingering discomfort with, if not suspicion of, the concept and application of affirmative action. Robinson looks beyond claims of "reverse discrimination" to the continuing achievement gaps between blacks and whites and evaluates the functionality of affirmative action as a remedy for past discrimination against blacks. Robinson, the founder and head of Trans Africa, played a significant role in moving South Africa away from apartheid. In this book, he turns his critique to the domestic landscape, examining international implications of American race issues. Robinson makes a cogent argument for reparations to black Americans and Africans for the accumulated consequences of racial injustice from the Middle Passage to current-day discrimination. He compares the wrongdoing directed at, and subsequent reparations made to, German Jews and Japanese Americans. Robinson argues that Americans need to understand the nature and root of the problems that cause the economic disparity between blacks and whites and urges a commitment of a magnitude equal to a Marshall Plan. This insightful book is a worthy read for those concerned about the future of race relations. Vernon Ford From Kirkus Reviews Robinson (Defending the Spirit, 1998), influential chief of the lobbying group TransAfrica, presents the long overdue bill, on behalf of America's blacks, for centuries of social and economic abuse. With the angry fervor of a street preacher and the artful rhetoric of a talented polemicist, Robinson's impassioned brief offers a sampling of little-known black history and the somewhat better-known story of slavery perpetrated by profiteering whites. (Little is said about Muslim influence or black participation in the evil trade.) That the ancient Egyptians were Africans as dark as any others is a given. Zipporah, wife of Moses, was black, too, claims Robinson. Such statements are beside the point. African-Americans are history's orphans, deprived of what is rightfully theirs: a proud and vital heritage. Like Shakespeare's Moor, they too have been of service to the state, from chopping cotton to helping build the Capitol. Still, despite their contributions, blacks continue to be abused and insulted. White journalists are blind to what blacks see clearly. US policy, says Robinson, blithely destroys Caribbean economies at the behest of Chiquita Brands and demands that the IMF impoverish African nations. Blacks are imprisoned for using crack cocaine while whites sniffing powder cocaine stay free. Socioeconomic gaps remain undisturbed by prejudice or conditioned expectations; those who do not expect better do no better. ``Many blacksmost, perhaps, though I can't be suredon't like America, notes Robinson. Affirmative action isn't enough, he says. Since the legacy of slavery is poverty, America must pay for what it has cost the descendants of those who were stolen from their homes and deprived of their culture. Not since Malcolm X has there been such outraged discussion of white domination. Robinson is not optimistic that his message will be heard, but if the nation is to endure honorably, candid debate must begin on his jeremiad, whether or not cash reparations result. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. Randall Robinson is the founder and president of TransAfrica, the organization that spearheaded the movement to influence U.S. policies toward international black leadership. He is the author of Defending the Spirit: A Black Life in America , The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks and The Reckoning: What Blacks Owe To Each Other . Frequently featured in major print media, he has appeared on Charlie Rose , Today , Good Morning America , and the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour , among others. From The Washington Post Robinson is respected for having brought the political influence of the black diaspora to bear on U.S. foreign policy toward Africa... His style , though, is engaging and conveys his estrangement from the mainstream. Robinson indulges in digressions to compliment Cuba and encourage campaign finance reform, but even these anecdotes support his attempts to reclaim African heritage and empower African Americans. Read more