Written by the Reverend Arthur L. Jones, III – Elmira, NY – May 7, 2023.
Are you familiar with the Walmart paradox? You may recognize it by another phraseology, but the principle is as universal as it is simple. Imagine that one bitterly cold, snow-encrusted night, you wake up at 3:00 in the morning to discover yourself in dire need of something that only your nearest Walmart has available for purchase. You need that item, you want that item, and you cannot wait. Because of those conditions, you are therefore required to get out of your toasty warm, comfortable bed. You are called to get dressed in the necessary number of layers. You fully intend to put on all the gloves, protective headgear, scarf, and whatever else necessary. Once outside in the frigid elements, you will scrape off the snow and ice from the windows and windshield. You will drive whatever the distance from your home to Walmart to secure that item – regardless of what weather-related obstacles are present; regardless of what critiques your friends may offer; and regardless of that item’s retail price. You will do what you must. This is the Walmart paradox.

As it relates to the issue of reparations, the United States of America finds itself in a situation almost identical to the aforementioned Walmart paradox. America is acutely aware of its twin original sins of forcefully implementing slavery upon African Americans and the proliferation of the nation’s vast wealth as a direct result of the virtually free labor provided by those enslaved African Americans. However – in a stark deviation from the Walmart paradox – the good old U.S. of A. refuses to do what is right or what is just. America refuses to even teach the truth about its own infinitely despicable institution of slavery in our so-called educational system. Elected politicians on the local, state, and federal levels are far more likely to classify African Americans as lazy, criminal-minded, or ungrateful rather than patriotic people of color who have been historically desecrated and systematically maltreated.

These days, in my not-so-humble opinion, it is increasingly difficult to remember how beautiful it is to be Black while we are under siege mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, economically, environmentally, legally, culturally, and politically, to name a few. Black bodies are catching hell out here.

Whenever and wherever the subject of reparations is brought up, White Americans of varying degrees of power, wealth, and influence will individually and collectively declare that such a measure cannot, should not, and will not be considered – let alone completed.

Here’s the inconvenient truth. The American government paid reparations to Japanese Americans who were held in internment camps on the West Coast without cause before and during World War II. More damning, the Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862 authorized the paying out of reparations by the federal government to former slave owners and their descendants for relinquishing their slaves.

California’s state government is currently moving forward with an initiative to pay every Black Californian the amount of $1.2 million each in reparations. If California manages this mighty feat, what about the remaining 49 states?

Since life is precious beyond measure, I cannot begin to accurately estimate what amount of money an individual African American could conceivably be paid in just compensation for the countless instances of injustice we have suffered for hundreds of years. A 1993 deep dive by Harper’s Magazine estimated that fair compensation to African Americans would be a dollar figure right at $100 trillion.

There are many ways to accomplish the promise of reparations to African Americans if the will to do so was ever genuine. Here’s an example off the top of my head. What if the entire American banking system in full collaboration with the federal government and the Federal Reserve granted every African American a credit score of 999 along with comprehensive financial literacy training? Such an outside-the-box proposal could effectively close the wealth gap between Black and White Americans; facilitate small Black-owned business creation; and finally place the persistently evil practice of redlining (the relegation of Black Americans to small, racially concentrated subsections of neighborhoods in cities and towns) in the dirt.

Or the federal government could simply exempt all African Americans with a net worth of less than $3 million from paying federal taxes for life.

The great unknown question related to American reparations is what might immediately follow. Reparation payments might usher in unrest rather than unity; and/or revenge rather than reconciliation.

I know some brothers and sisters who want nothing to do with reparations. Although I disagree with them, I fully respect their stance.

Ultimately, the gaping hole in America’s soul will remain until atonement is achieved. The Walmart paradox remains. Reparations may not be wanted, but they are needed. So pay attention, America. And then… pay up.

By the Reverend Arthur L. Jones, III