UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY HOLDS REPARATIONS CONFERENCE

Donna Lamb
October 20, 2002

In mid October, Union Theological Seminary (UTS) in New York City held a 2-day conference entitled "Costly Grace: Race & Reparations" which dealt with the subject of reparations to descendants of slavery from a global perspective. There was also an evening with the well-known and highly respected poet and activist Sonia Sanchez, as well as singing, drumming and story telling by modern-day djali (village chronicler in West Africa) Paula Larke.

This program was part of the lecture and academic exchange associated with the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair for Theology and Ethics, which honors the memory of this great theologian and scholar who, as a member of the resistance movement against Hitler, was imprisoned for many years and was executed in 1945.

SLAVERY AND REPARATIONS

The opening Plenary Session dealt with reparations for slavery in America. First to speak was Patricia Williams, a professor at Columbia Law School who examined the subject from a moral viewpoint. She believes that the most important thing about the reparations struggle is the dialogue about race and racism that it engenders.

Emilie Townes, Professor of Christian Ethics at UTS, followed. She spoke about questions General Sherman and Secretary of War Stanton asked Black community leaders in 1865 before they issued Field Order #15, which set aside land for Blacks. The 5th question was, "Do you think there is intelligence enough among the slaves of the South to maintain themselves under the government of the United States and equal protection of its laws, and maintain good and peaceable relations among yourselves and with your neighbors?" "There is sufficient intelligence among us to do so," was the answer.

"137 years later, Black folks are still answering these kinds of questions," said Townes. "Sadly, if not strategically, this 5th question has never fully left the lips of many in this country."

She went on to say that to her mind, "Reparations is ultimately not about Black folks; it is about white power and privilege. The problem is not us. I worry more about the intelligence, the intentions, and will of my white neighbors."

Speaking too was Mary Elizabeth Hobgood, associate professor at Holy Cross College. As a white woman, she addressed the "over-privilege" of whites, stating, "This is what lies at the root of the racist hell that we unleash on others, both as individuals and through racist institutions."

PERSPECTIVE GAINED FROM OTHER STRUGGLES

Others brought an international perspective in which to view the issue of reparations.

JoAnne Kagiwada, a former lobbyist with the Japanese American Citizen's League, spoke on what it was like being put into the Japanese internment camps, and how it was so painful that most people couldn't talk about it later, not even with their own families. She also discussed the struggle to get redress, which came in the form of a check for $20,000 for 60,000 individual Japanese Americans. It was understood to be a symbolic token, not a price tag for what they had suffered.

UTS's visiting professor of Ecumenical Theology, Daniel Preman Niles, spoke as well. He talked about the awful belief that in order to love what we are, we have to hate what we are not.

One of the most powerful and moving speakers was Hawaiian-born Tyrone Reinhardt. He has worked 30 years in the Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement to secure an apology from the United Church of Christ and the US Government for the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He brought forth many facts about the diverse peoples that make up the 50 plus nations in the Pacific Islands. He told of their history and of what had befallen them at the hands of the missionaries and our government, and what they face today. He said of his people, "We are like bamboo. The wind blows hard and the bamboo lies down, but no matter how hard it blew, the bamboo comes back up and stands majestically."

There was also Daisy Machado, associate professor at Texas Christian University, who began with the words, "I bring you greetings from Occupied America." She spoke about the long and ugly history of the USA in relation to Mexico, and the disenfranchisement of Mexican Americans now.

Professor Ana Maria Diaz-Stevens, who teaches a course on "Experiences of the Divine in Caribbean Religions" at UTS, spoke about Puerto Rico's history with the US, including the disgraceful bombing of the island of Vieques that continues. She said, "Restitution is the natural accompaniment of repentance, and there can be no forgiveness without repentance."

AN INDIGENOUS PERSON'S VIEWPOINT

Another person who brought a tremendously important perspective was Andrea Smith, a member of the Cherokee Nation. She began by addressing the much-quoted statement, "I want my 40 acres and a mule." "You can have the mule," she said, "but the 40 acres are ours. The US Government has no land to give anyone!"

She went on to say that whatever form of reparations a people may look for, it must challenge capitalism. And she said that they, the Indigenous Peoples of this land, "being only 1% of the population, have to take up the cause of reparations with everyone else at an international level. White supremacy is a global issue so it must be fought internationally."

REPARATIONS TO THE JEWS

Otto Graf Lambsdorff, chairman of the Friedrich-Naumann Foundation in Germany, spoke about how Jews obtained reparations from both German corporations and the German government. He said, "The German companies were afraid of the damage it would do to their image, including in the US, if they did not pay reparations, so the government had to act." Since corporations wield great power over the government in this country too, this is certainly food for thought in terms of how the lawsuits against corporations here might help shift our government closer to reparations.

Also speaking was Wolfgang Huber, Bishop of the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg, who addressed the need to move from confession to atonement and reparations. He said that failure to make that move turns the confession in to mere words. He also described quite usefully the state of mind and heart in Germany today since so many of the citizens weren't yet born during the Second World War: "There is no collective guilt," he explained, "but there is a common shame and a common responsibility for what took place under the German flag."

DIVERSE WORKSHOPS OFFERED

Workshops were offered as well. To name a few, there were Karin Case's "Becoming Better Allies: Roles and Responsibilities of White People," Christopher Morse's "Pro- and Anti-Slavery Arguments in the History of Christian Theology," Michael Harris' "Putting African American History To Work for Reparations," and this author's workshop "The Work of CURE - Caucasians United for Reparations and Emancipation."

"WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?"

In the final Plenary Session titled "Where Do We Go from Here?" who better to hear from than Alderman Dorothy Tillman from the Third Ward in Chicago, IL. Jennifer Harvey, who was largely responsible for putting together this remarkable conference, told of Tillman's amazing success in getting a Reparations Resolution passed unanimously by the entire City Council of Chicago. This has thrust her into a national leadership role in the growing movement for reparations in the US.

Tillman said what is taught as American history is a lie. She proceeded to lay out what actually happened under slavery and the defacto slavery that continued into the 1950s with sharecropping in the South. She continued, "Every psychologist says that to get past something you have to talk about it. But when it comes to Blacks and slavery, they say, 'Forget about it!' But we must not let people forget about it," Tillman said. "We must change white people's minds by educating them about what really happened to Blacks in America." That was the secret of her success with the City Council in Chicago, and that is what needs to happen all over this nation.

Derrick Bell, Jr., professor at the NYU School of Law, went on to speak about the necessity of having whites see the interests of Blacks converge with theirs, because if they don't see that, any advances made are in danger of being rescinded.

The final lecturer was Rev. James Forbes, Senior Minister of Riverside Church in New York City. A most engaging speaker, he talked about the importance of Randall Robinson's book The Debt and read from it a letter asking for restitution that was written in 1865 by Jourdon Anderson to his former owner. Forbes also made it clear that the mindset which made for slavery is still in operation in the mentality of our government as it prepares to go to war with Iraq.

The subject of reparations is reached the public's attention. The debate often gets hot, but that is likely necessary for the issue finally to be understood. This was a timely and courageous conference for Union Theological Seminary to hold. Perhaps it will set the standard for other religious and spiritual institutions to follow by hosting their own major conferences on this crucial issue.

Donna Lamb is Communications Director for CURE. You can visit their website at www.ReparationsTheCURE.org.

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