Slavery a cornerstone of profit system
Reparations lawsuit filed against big companies
By Pat Chin
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Less than one month after thousands of people, primarily of
African descent, attended an Aug. 17 reparations rally in
Washington, D.C., the first lawsuit filed by Deadria
Farmer-Paellmann on behalf of herself and all other descendents
of slaves was heard at a pre-motion conference in the U.S.
District Court here on Sept. 12.
FleetBoston Financial Corporation, Aetna, Inc., CSX
Railroads and other companies are being sued in the
class-action case. These corporations made huge fortunes from
the trans-Atlantic slave trade, which scholars estimate
stripped Africa of from 50 million to 70 million people.
Today, these giants of capitalist industry continue to
profit from the legacy of slavery and racism through the "dead
labor" of capital "that lives anew by the hand of the living,"
as brilliantly revealed by Karl Marx.
African Americans--of different ages and genders, along with
their supporters--had come from all over the country and Canada
to attend the historic Millions for Reparations rally outside
the Capitol building. Organized by a coalition of Black
activists, it was timed to coincide with the 115th anniversary
of the birth of Marcus Garvey, Black nationalist leader and
Jamaican national hero.
A multinational contingent of labor activists, who had
formed Labor for Reparations to support the rally, also swelled
the ranks.
Speaker after speaker called for compensation for centuries
of brutally enforced slave labor and the vicious racism, used
first to justify the trade in Black human cargo, that remains
deeply entrenched. Racial discrimination is responsible, in
fact, for the economic and social problems that still plague
Black communities across the U.S.
Many people in the growing movement feel that any monies won
should be shared community-wide to improve housing, health care
and education for all African Americans. Movement organizers
have pointed out that Haiti and other countries are also due
reparations.
Since the 1980s, under former President Ronald Reagan,
there's been a full-court press by the white, male-dominated
capitalist establishment, through its big-business media and
courts, to turn affirmative action into a dirty word. The same
is now true of reparations.
Asked what motivated her to file the lawsuit in this
context, Farmer-Paellmann told Workers World: "I recognized
that this was an area of reparations that had been overlooked
historically. Focusing on corporations is a relatively new
approach, and I felt very strongly that we had greater access
to corporations than we do directly to the federal government
so I thought it was necessary to move forward with an
action."
The team representing Farmer-Paellmann includes attorneys
Roger S. Wareham, Jomo Sanga, Diane Sammons, Bruce E. Nagel and
Edward D. Fagan.
Seek to consolidate cases
Asked about the status of the case following the pre-motion
conference, Wareham explained: "We have filed cases in several
jurisdictions around the country--New York, New Jersey,
California and Louisiana. There's currently a motion before the
courts to consolidate them rather than have them before
different judges. Right now all the proceedings have been
stayed pending a decision by the court."
Wareham--who is also a leader of the Brooklyn-based December
12th Movement--expects a decision by September's end. In
addition, the Reparations Coordinating Committee has filed a
similar lawsuit targeting the U.S. government.
The accumulation of colossal profits, wrung from the
holocaust of the Middle Passage, laid the foundation for
today's merciless exploitation of workers and oppressed peoples
across the country and around the globe by U.S. capitalist
industry and finance.
Like affirmative action, reparations are only a small
measure of recognition for the crime against humanity called
slavery.
All working people have a stake in the movement. By standing
shoulder to shoulder with their African American sisters and
brothers, those not covered by the lawsuit can help invigorate
the labor movement. Solidarity is most crucial now that Wall
Street wants the working class to bear the brunt of the
deepening capitalist economic crisis.
"I think that in the final analysis this case will be won
not simply because it's correct and just legally but because
the ground swell of support demanding that the right thing be
done is such that the companies cannot ignore it," Wareham told
WW.
"One thing the community can do," added Farmer-Paellmann,
"is come out when we make an announcement that we're going to
be in court. Around the country others should consider filing
actions similar to ours against corporations that they know
have profited from enslaved Africans."
Organizers say that neighborhood meetings are also key,
particularly in preparation for next year's National
Reparations Rally at the United Nations. And so is demanding
that elected officials make the issue a part of their platform
and initiating city and state resolutions of support. Letters
can also be written to the defendants in the cases urging them
to settle.
"Our focus is on what can be done legally," explained
Wareham. "The community's focus should be on making it clear
that there's community-wide support for reparations."
The movement can be strengthened if the entire working class
supports it--and by linking the struggle against racism to the
fight for socialism. As explained in a recent Workers World
Party statement, "Socialism is the ultimate reparation."
Reprinted from the Sept. 26, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyrighted
under a Creative
Commons License.
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