Reparations for slavery is a political justice concept that argues that reparations should be paid to the descendants of Africans trafficked to and enslaved in the Americas as a consequence of the Atlantic slave trade
1. John J. Sarno 1
Race and Reparations
A Legal, Social and Ethical Perspective
2. 2
House Resolution 194
(July 29, 2008)
US House of Representatives issues an apology for
slavery in the United States from 1619-1865.
Excerpts
“Visceral racism became entrenched in the nation’s social
fabric.”
Segregation “was a direct result of the racism engendered by
slavery.”
“African-Americans continue to suffer from the complex
interplay between slavery and segregation long after both
systems were formally abolished, through enormous damage,
including loss of human dignity, the frustration of careers and
professional lives, and the long-term loss of income and
opportunity.”
3. 3
Slavery was preserved in the US Constitution
The Fugitive Slave Clause
All persons held to service or labor in one state,
under the laws thereof, escaping into another,
shall be delivered up on a claim of the party to
whom such service or labor is due.
4. 4
Dred Scott v. Sanford
US Supreme Court (1857)
Upholds Fugitive Slave Act. Court also rules
that slaves cannot sue in federal court
since they are “property” not “persons”
under the Constitution.
8. 8
13th Amendment abolishes slavery and involuntary
servitude.
14th Amendment guarantees full rights of citizenship
regardless of race and equal protection under the law.
Congress passes Civil Rights Act of 1866 entitling
same treatment in public accommodations and the
right to enforce contracts regardless of race, color, or
previous condition of servitude.
12. 12
The Civil Rights Cases (1883)
Blacks allege violation of Civil Rights Act
when denied access to a public inn. Court
holds that Congress has no authority to
prohibit acts of private discrimination.
15. Immigration Restriction League
Is the United States “to be peopled by
British, German and Scandinavian stock,
historically free, energetic, progressive, or
by Slav, Latin and Asiatic races, historically
down-trodden, atavistic and stagnant.”
15
16. 16
Racial quotas imposed on
immigration law
Theodore Roosevelt warns Congress of
“racial suicide” and charges that white
women who do not have children are
committing “crimes against the race”.
18. 18
Heredity Commission is formed to
“encourage the increase of families of
good blood and discourage the vicious
elements in the cross-bred American
civilization.”
23. 23
Holden v. Hardy
U.S. Supreme Court (1898)
Upholds Utah law establishing 8-hour day
for minors. Court defers to state
legislators to restrict hours of work
“detrimental to the health of the
employee”.
25. 25
Lochner v. New York
U.S. Supreme Court (1905)
New York enacted statute prohibiting
bakers from working more than 60 hours
a week or 10 hours per day.
Holding: Violated “liberty” protected by
14th Amendment. Employers and
employees are equally free to bargain to
their best advantage.
26. 26
Muller v. Oregon
U.S. Supreme Court (1908)
Upholds state law limiting women to a
10-hour day. Does not overrule
Lochner. Court finds that “healthy
mothers are essential to vigorous
offspring” and therefore, “the physical
wellbeing of women becomes an object
of public interest”.
27. 27
Buck v. Bell
U.S. Supreme Court (1927)
Supreme Court upholds Virginia statute that
promotes the sterilization of “mental
defectives”.
Court finds state’s power to promote public
health, safety, welfare and morality
encompasses sterilization.
28. 28
“It is better for all the world, if instead of waiting
to execute degenerate offspring for crime, or to
let them starve for their imbecility, society can
prevent those who are manifestly unfit from
continuing their kind. The principle that sustains
compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover
the Fallopian tubes. Three generations of
imbeciles are enough.”
Buck v. Bell (1927)
29. 29
Buck v. Bell is based on “progressive”
theories
of human evolution
(natural selection)
Eugenics/Social Darwinism
“Survival of the Fittest”
Genetic Predetermination/The Role of Government
35. 35
Hammer v. Dagenhart
U.S. Supreme Court (1918)
Federal Child Labor Act violates
Commerce Clause.
The law aimed to set a minimum age
to work in mining and manufacturing.
Holding: The production of articles
intended for interstate commerce is a
matter of local regulation.
40. 40
National Industrial Recovery Act of
1933
Suspended antitrust law in some
industries
Permitted price and wage fixing
Adopted inspection codes
40 – hour work week
Overtime pay
Set a minimum wage
Ended child labor
Allowed collective bargaining
41. 41
Schechter Poultry v. United
States
U.S. Supreme Court (1935)
Schechter charged with “the sale to a
butcher of an unfit chicken”. NIRA
exceeds Congress’ power to regulate
commerce. In this case, the chicken
was raised and slaughtered locally
and was sold only to interstate
buyers.
42. 42
Carter v. Carter Coal Co.
U.S. Supreme Court (1936)
Law that establishes minimum wage and
restriction on hours in coal industry
exceeds Congress’ authority to regulate
interstate commerce. “Production is not
commerce; but a step in preparation of
commerce.”
45. 45
West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish
US Supreme Court (1937)
California enacts minimum wage law for women in the
hotel industry. Parrish sues alleging she is paid a
substandard wage.
Holding: State minimum wage law does not violate
“liberty of contract” under the 14th Amendment.
Court finds that employer and employee are not
equally free in negotiating contracts.
46. 46
West Coast Hotel Co. V. Parrish
(continued)
Court takes judicial notice of economic
depression and the “alarming degree of
economic insecurity.”
“The community is not bound to provide
what is in effect a subsidy for
unconscionable employers.”
47. 47
NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp.
US Supreme Court (1937)
National Labor Relations Act, which
guarantees the right to organize labor
unions, does not violate Commerce Clause.
Ensuring “labor peace” has a direct impact
on interstate commerce.
48. 48
Helvering v. Davis
U.S. Supreme Court (1937)
Social Security Act upheld.
Congress can tax and spend money
for the “general welfare”. Old age,
relief, unemployment are national
problems. Laws of separate states
are inadequate. “When money is
spent for the general welfare, the
concept of welfare is shaped by
Congress, not the states.”
49. Executive Order 8802 (1941)
Prohibits discrimination based on race,
creed, color or national origin by defense
contractors
49
50. 50
United States v. Darby
U.S. Supreme Court (1941)
Fair Labor Standards Act upheld
Minimum wage
Overtime pay
Child labor restrictions
Court defers to Congress in determining
what constitutes interstate commerce.
53. 53
Wickard v. Filburn
U.S. Supreme Court (1942)
Federal law regulates wheat production.
Filburn, a small farmer, produces wheat
over his designated allotment. The
surplus was used for feeding his poultry
and livestock, and was not sold in the
marketplace.
Holding: Congress has the authority to
regulate any article or product that
could be sold in interstate commerce.
57. 57
U.S. Department of Defense
human radiation experiments
1946-1974 (16,000 subjects)
• Prisoners
• Soldiers
• Alaskan Villagers
• Retarded and Institutionalized Teenagers
• Cancer Patients
63. 63
Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas
US Supreme Court (1954)
Overrules “separate but equal” in public
education. Holds that suit can be brought
against school board under 14th
Amendment.
65. 65
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Prohibits discrimination based on race,
color, religion, sex, or national origin
• public accommodations
• employment
• public education
• voting
• government services
• public transportation
• creates Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission
66. 66
Executive Orders
1941 - Prohibits discrimination based on race,
creed, color or national origin by defense
contractors
1953 - Establishes Committee on Government
Contractors
1961 - Prohibits discrimination by all federal
contractors and urges them to use
“affirmative action.”
1965 - Requires Affirmative Action Plans by
federal contractors and equal employment
opportunity in federal government.
1967 - Prohibits discrimination against women by
federal contractors.
67. 67
Heart of Atlanta Motel v. US
US Supreme Court (1964)
Upholds Civil Right Act of 1964. Congress can
use Commerce Clause to regulate private
transactions that impact “interstate commerce.”
68. 68
Compare the Civil Rights Cases (1883),
Congress has no power under the 14th
Amendment to enact civil rights laws.
with
Heart of Atlanta Motel, Congress has power
under Commerce Clause to enact civil rights
laws.
69. Loving v. Virginia (1967)
Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act violates
equal protection under the law 14th
Amendment’s
69
72. Griswald v. Connecticut (1965)
Connecticut law criminalizing
contraception violates 14th Amendment
right to “privacy”
72
73. 73
Roe v. Wade (1973)
Right of privacy is based on liberty and
due process and is broad enough to
encompass a woman’s decision whether or
not to terminate her pregnancy.
76. Perry v. Schwarzenegger (2010)
Proposition 8 amending California
Supreme Court which bans same-sex
marriage violates equal protection under
the law under 14th Amendment
76
81. Genetic Anthropology
Good or Bad Science?
- humans are cooperative by nature
- humans “fear the other” by nature
- humans are “traders” by nature
- humans are empathetic by nature
- humans are moral by nature
81
82. 82
What are the ethical implications?
Test to determine predisposition to
disease?
Testing a fetus for precondition?
Testing fetus for intelligence?
88. 88
In issuing Executive Order 11246
(1965), President Johnson states:
“Freedom is not enough. Equal employment
opportunity is essential, but not enough.”
Is an apology, enough?
Are reparations, enough?
89. 89
In 1999, Swiss banks paid $1.25 billion to
Holocaust victims and wartime slave
laborers.
In 2000, German companies pay into a
victims’ compensation fund.
Banks, insurance firms, railroads and other
American companies profited from slavery.
100 have been sued. Many have issued
apologies.
92. 92
The Company
In 1994, Texaco is ranked 9th on the Fortune
500 list with over $33 billion in revenue
20,000 employees in the US
9% of the US workforce is African-American
23% woman and minorities
93. 93
In 1994, an African American accountant filed suit alleging job
discrimination, unequal pay and race harassment. Soon
four other exempt employees joined the suit and the
complaint was transformed into a class action, which
alleged a pattern and practice of:
– Denying employees the opportunity for promotion and refusing to
promote qualified African-American employees
– Denying employees comparable salaries, raises and other
compensation given to white employees
– Preventing African-Americans from acquiring the experience and
opportunities necessary to obtain the qualifications to be promoted
– Retaliating against employees who assert their civil rights through
intimidation, diminishment of work and termination
94. 94
Specific “Glass Ceiling” allegations included:
• Failure to establish objective criteria for promotions
• Ad hoc, subjective decision-making by management
• No written policies regarding promotions
• A performance grading system that changed frequently and resulted
in arbitrary rankings
• Lack of internal controls regarding employment practices
Filing managerial positions on a word-of-mouth basis
Failure to post openings
No right to appeal performance reviews
95. 95
The Complaint also alleged a “racist culture,”
including:
• Supervisors referring to African-Americans as
“orangutans” and “porch monkeys”
• Referring to one of the plaintiff’s as “Aunt Jemima” and
another as “a little colored girl”
• A company representative advising a franchisee to “hire
yourself a cheerful colored boy, the bigger and darker
the better and then send him around town in white
coveralls with the [name of the] gas station on the back”
• A manager dressed as Sambo at a company-sponsored
Halloween party
96. 96
Texaco denied the allegations in the complaint and
prepared to defend
“We believe the complaint lacks merit…If it goes to
court, we will prove it.”
In 1995, Texaco’s directors denied a shareholder
petition seeking a resolution relating to
employment opportunity as “redundant and
wasteful of corporate resources.”
Texaco’s 1995 Annual Report reaffirmed the
company’s “commitment to diversity…respect for
the individual and [Texaco’s] long-standing
policies of equal opportunity for all employees.”
97. 97
In 1997, Texaco agreed to pay $176 million to settle a race
discrimination lawsuit, the largest settlement in history.
– $115 million for lump-sum payments to 14,000 salaried black
employees who worked for the company between 1991-1996 (about
$63,000 per employee)
– $26 million over five years to give these employees an 11% pay
raise
– $5 million for a five-year task force that would revise HR policies
throughout the company
99. 99
Large corporations traditionally promised job
security in exchange for loyalty and
discipline
At Texaco, many managers (primarily white
males) spent their entire careers at the
company
Downsizing and restructuring are viewed as
acts of betrayal
100. 100
In 1994, Texaco’s Houston facility undergoes
an OFCCP compliance audit and finds
violations of Executive Order 11246 and
reprimands the company for disparate
impact and treatment of its policies and
practices
Texaco commits to raising the percentage of
African Americans in management.
101. 101
In 1996, the global energy industry was
going through major consolidation and
restructuring and a wave of layoffs was
imminent.
103. 103
Company attempts diversity training, but
division becomes worse
At company function “celebrating” diversity,
some African-Americans refuse to stand for
National Anthem. When an African-inspired
anthem is played, some white employees
walk out
104. 104
During this time, a meeting was held between a
senior HR coordinator and the company treasurer
to discuss the production of documents in the
class action.
Both were senior level managers with long-term
tenure. Both were experiencing the threat of
layoff. The HR coordinator was secretly recording
all day.
After being laid off, the HR coordinator gave
recordings to plaintiffs’ counsel and a transcript
was published by the NY Times.
105. 105
Relevant Portions of
Transcript
Texaco Treasurer: I’ve heard this diversity thing. You know, how
black jellybeans agree.
Senior HR Coordinator: That’s funny. All the black jellybeans seem to
be glued to the bottom of the bag.
Treasurer: You can’t just have we and them. You can’t just
have black jellybeans and other jellybeans. It
doesn’t work.
HR Coordinator: Yeah. But they’re perpetuating the black
jellybeans.
Treasurer: I’m still having trouble with Hanukkah. Now we
have Kwanza.
106. 106
Popular analogy used in diversity
training is the jar of jelly beans
“I’ve heard this diversity thing.
You know, how black
jellybeans agree…
You can’t just have we and them.
You can just have black
jellybeans and other jellybeans.
It doesn’t work
…they’re perpetuating the black
jellybeans. It perpetuates ‘us’
and ‘them.’
107. 107
Anger and resentment are caught on
tape
“The pendulum’s swinging the other way guys I hate to tell
you…and if you’re trying to get away from and get to the
‘we,’ you can’t do that kind of stuff.
It doesn’t work. They’re perpetuating the black jelly bean. It
perpetuates ‘us’ and ‘them.’
When they came in with these African things…I refuse to go
for that…I walked out during, when they did their version
of the national anthem…when they sat, during ours, ‘ours’
(!), as though they’re not included…we have two friggin
national anthems!”
108. 108
After tapes are made public –
Texaco’s stock price falls
A stock divestiture campaign is organized by
the NAACP
A boycott of Texaco dealers is organized by
Operation Push
Texaco goes into full damage control mode
109. 109
Texaco’s CEO -
“It is incredible to me that any managers or executives
within our company had the gall, the intolerance, the
insensitivity, to say the things that they said. They are
statements that represent a profound contempt…not
only for Texaco’s values but for fundamental standards
of fairness, of mutual respect, and of human decency.”
111. 111
In settling the class action, Texaco’s CEO
states:
“Texaco is committed to developing and
instituting specific, effective policies that
will ensure discrimination is wiped out
wherever it might be, and that it will
expand the positive economic impact we
can have in the minority community.”
112. 112
Is it Enough?
CEO offers apology
“I am sorry for the incident. I pledge to you that we will do everything
in our power to heal the painful wounds that the reckless behavior of
those involved have inflicted on all of us…”
Senior Executives visit each Texaco location to apologize
Meeting are convened to reaffirm core values
More diversity training is scheduled in 2-day sessions
Ethics Hotline is established
Complete overhaul of HR policies is started
Special Board of Directors’ committee on diversity is formed
114. 114
THE UNITED STATES IS A
MULTICULTURAL NATION
IT IS COMPRISED OF 150 DISTINCT
ETHNIC GROUPS
THE UNITED STATES IS A
MULTICULTURAL NATION
150 DISTINCT ETHNIC GROUPS
200 RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
115. 115
The Diverse Workplace
57% of the working population is female,
minority or both
US Department of Labor estimates that 85% of
new hires in the foreseeable future will be
women and minorities
Between 1990 and 2001, one of every two
workers in the US was foreign born
Women and minority men (African-American,
Hispanic, Asian-American) will make up 62% of
the workforce by the year 2020
116. 116
Diversity within families has grown.
More than 20% of Americans have a
relative married to someone of another
race.
