Many people today do not believe that they should have to pay for something they were not even involved in long ago, but the fact is African-Americans were promised by the U.S. Government some type of reparation for slavery and it was never received by slaves. I believe that the ancestors of former slaves should receive money for their family members going through this period of time. Just as when a person dies, his or her family receives what was left behind. In this case blacks could not own property they were someone's property. Blacks could not accumulate assets that could be passed on from generation to generation as years went by. Therefore families of former slaves should get the reparations promised out of respect for their ancestors. Before I began put this idea in your head: many Africans were taken from the only place they knew. Their families, the language, and a different culture, had to be learned. .
Blacks were promised 40 acres and a mule after slavery, but that was not given. Why should the government make a promise that it does not keep? Why should the government tell someone that he or she will receive something and that person never gets it? That's what the government did to African-American's. On the other hand the United States Government also promised to pay reparations to the Japanese-Americans who were detained in concentration camps during WWII. Reparations are a promise to keep. Many black Americans are not asking for money, but most are asking for an apology. .
Reparations are defined as efforts, usually by a nation's government, to make up for harm or wrongdoing that occurred in the past. Reparations often include the payments of money or the return of property to individuals or groups. Others forms of reparations include formal apologies and changes in government policy. Historically, reparations have been payments that victorious nations demanded from defeated nations after a war.