I recently had a nice conversation with someone who edified me on the reasons why many Black people desire reparations. Before, I was against reparations simply because that was the conservative position, but then I decided to use my brain more by asking the point of view of someone who’s more informed about it than I am. After having this conversation with them, and my subsequent research, I’ve decided that I understand why they desire reparations and even empathize with them, but I still hold no desire for reparations of my own as a descendant of Black slaves.
Whereas before, I was ignorant and simply thought they wanted reparations simply because of blind retribution against The White Man for slavery, now I understand their demands for reparations are actually legitimate, as they are predicated on the promises of a historical document. However, despite the legitimacy of their demands, I still hold no desire for reparations. Before I state my reasons why, a brief historical exposition is necessary. And whether you’re vehemently for or against reparations, I ask you to restrain any apoplexy and hear me out first.
Where did Reparations Come From?
Near the end of the Civil War and the long-delayed liberty of Black slaves, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton suggested to General William T. Sherman that he ask the 20 Black pastors in Savannah, Georgia, “What do you want for your own people?” These Black leaders gathered with military officials on January 12, 1865 in a mansion called the Green-Meldrim House. Their explanation was entirely reasonable, explaining “they didn’t want to live among white people, as they feared it would take years for racial prejudice to dissipate in the South. Instead, they wished to live amongst themselves on their own land. That would entail redistributing the land of Southern plantation owners” (Nettle). I personally consider this a reasonable demand, for who can blame them for being anxious about living alongside their racist White neighbors—literally their former, abusive masters?
One of the speakers for the group, a 67-year-old Baptist pastor named Rev. Garrison Frazier, said, “The way we can best take care of ourselves is to have land and turn it and till it by our own labor,” including both formerly enslaved and now freemen. After the meeting, Secretary Stanton gave the minutes to Henry Ward Beecher. After going over the notes, he handed them off to the New York Daily Tribune, which printed the minutes in its February 13, 1865 edition, which you can find in the sources below.
After the meeting (and before the subsequent publication), General Sherman signed Field Order 15 on January 16, 1865, promising “400,000 acres of Confederate land for members of the formerly enslaved population. When the land near the Southeast coast was evenly redistributed, each family would have 40 acres of tillable ground” (Nettle). However, following President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination just a few months later on April 15, 1865, President Andrew Johnson rescinded Field Order 15.
I won’t digress into the proposed reasons as to why Johnson rescinded the promise, but it should suffice to say that this resulted in 3.9 million former Black slaves struggling to make ends meet post-Civil War, many of whom found themselves back on plantations as sharecroppers. Admittedly, the conditions were slightly better than slavery, but they were given meager wages and were further exploited for their labor. The purpose of Field Order 15 was to enable the former slaves to generate financial solvency, but the government broke this promise.
Unfortunately, with the fulfillment of this promise being 160 years too late, the practicalities of Field Order 15 are even trickier. Alotting 40 acres of land to each descendant of Black slaves, in my opinion, is not entirely feasible, not just because of the difficulty of finding the land available through legal means, but also because of the greater difficulty of ascertaining which African Americans are truly descendants of Black slaves. The genealogy is extremely difficult. Other methods besides land have been proposed, such as forgoing payment of all taxes for a certain amount of time for these descendants (admittedly, I love this idea). That being said, I’m no economist, so I can’t even begin to suggest how this or other suggestions for reparations might work without damaging the economy and deposing our White neighbors who’ve had nothing to do with slavery.
Thus, here is the opinion I’ve arrived at: Because the government did what the government does best—breaking its promises—I understand and even support reparations for the descendants of Black slaves. However, I do not desire these reparations for myself, and you therefore won’t see me speaking publicly for reparations despite my empathy.
Why Don’t I Want Reparations?
In the conversation I had with the aforementioned person above, I had originally stated I still don’t want reparations because I don’t want to depose my White neighbors who’ve had nothing to do with slavery (how does one keep the 9th and 10th Commandments in this regard?), that I’m not entirely sure how the practicalities would work without damaging the economy, and I disagreed with them about not allowing White people into Black communities specifically built by Black people because this would be a reversal of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that overturned Jim Crow laws, and, I dare say, an insult to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s sacrifice. I still hold to those reasons, but after further reflection, my ultimate reason is this: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth” (Matthew 5:5).
I could write an entire essay on this Beatitude alone, but for my purposes here it simply has to do with the eschatological promise Jesus is giving—that His meek (lowly) people will inherit the new heavens and the new Earth. Therefore, in my mind—as a baptized child of God who will receive the inheritance of eternal life (Romans 6:3-5)—what concern is the promise of Field Order 15 when I have the promise of the bodily resurrection, after which I, with many other Christians of all tribes and nations and tongues (Revelation 7:9), will also inherit not just the Earth but the entire cosmos?
Yes, the government rescinded their promise of Field Order 15, and that is a shamable offense, but my comfort is not in those reparations. Rather, my comfort is in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has promised the reparations of the new heavens and the new Earth when He returns in glory when He raises me from the dead.
I don’t say this to minimize the immense suffering of my ancestors or the pervading sense of injustice many Black people feel, but as a Black Christian, I just don’t care when I have an infinitely greater promise. The government went back on their promise, as it is known to do. The government has already demonstrated its untrustworthiness in this manner, so I cannot help but view reparations—genuine though it is—as wishful thinking. Who’s to say they won’t rescind their promise again if they were to deliver these reparations? But I have a God of an entirely different Kingdom who never goes back on His promises.
I am content with what God has given me. I don’t want or need reparations, for I have Christ, who is infinitely richer. If these reparations are miraculously given, I’ll just use the 40 acres to build a church where the Word and Sacraments can be rightly preached and administered for the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. If reparations come in some other form, I’ll find some other way to glorify God because it all belongs to Him anyway.
So, that’s my reason. I don’t ask for acquiescence to my view. This is simply the decision I’ve come to by my reason and religious conscience. I pray, O reader mine, that you respect that.
Sources
Gates, Henry Louis Jr. “The Truth Behind ’40 Acres and a Mule.'” PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/the-truth-behind-40-acres-and-a-mule/.
James, Josef C. “Sherman at Savannah.” The Journal of Negro History 39, no 2 (April 1954): 127-137.
Minutes of the New York Daily Tribune, February 13, 1865: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030213/1865-02-13/ed-1/.
Nettle, Nadra Kareem. “The Short-Lived Promise of ’40 Acres and a Mule.'” History. Last Updated January 3, 2024. https://www.history.com/news/40-acres-mule-promise.
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