In the State of California, the Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans has issued a nearly 500-page report that will be submitted to the state legislature later this month. I will save you the trouble of reading this preposterous piece of Progressive propaganda in its entirety by highlighting a few of its $800 billion worth of recommendations…
- $13,619 to every African American because of the racial differences in life expectancy.
- $148,099 to every African American due to lower rates of black home ownership.
- $77,000 to every African American because black-owned businesses are generally worth less than those owned by other races and ethnicities.
- $159,792 to every African American due to higher incarceration rates for black Americans.
Obviously, the logic behind these four recommendations is faulty at best, intentionally deceptive at worst, and – in either case – easily disproved. For instance, black Americans are genetically predisposed to illnesses such as hypertension and sickle cell anemia whereas whites are more likely to develop melanoma and some other types of cancer. Black Americans also have higher rates of obesity and diabetes, neither of which can be attributed to racism. Factor in often violent black-on-black crime in our inner cities (homicide is the fifth leading cause of death for black males); and it is no wonder that blacks, on average, have shorter life spans than white, Asian, or Hispanic Americans.
I have often heard it argued that the racial disparity in life expectancy is due to access to quality healthcare. However, once again the facts prove otherwise. According to KFF’s Racial Equity and Health Policy Report, black Americans are more likely to have health insurance than Asian or Hispanic Americans, and almost twice as likely to have a primary care provider. Meanwhile, black women receive mammograms at a higher rate than any other race, including whites.
Likewise, the lower rates of black home ownership and business valuations are not inherently racist. Admittedly – and shamefully – there was a time when black Americans seeking to buy a house or start a business were treated unfairly by banks and other financial institutions. However, the disparity today is more likely the result of differences in educational degrees (which affect income levels), choice of vocations, business types and locations, and other mitigating factors that have nothing to do with race.
And, as someone with 35 years of first-hand prison ministry experience, please don’t get me started on the false allegation that the higher incarceration rates for black Americans is due to systemic racism. Tragically, African Americans – who comprise 12% of the general population – are responsible for 63% of all violent crimes in America. Blame absentee dads, spiraling out-of-wedlock birth rates, and higher drug use and drop-out rates in the black community, but do not blame racial prejudice for the incarceration imbalance. That’s factually incorrect and intellectually dishonest.
So why, you might ask, should every African American in California (a free state that wasn’t admitted to the Union until 1850 and which never legalized slavery) receive hundreds of thousands – or even millions – of dollars in reparations? Because of the victim mentality that has been instilled not only in the black community, but also across every racial and ethnic group in America, too.
Here is a prime example…
Rev. Amos C. Brown is the vice-chair of California’s reparations task force. At age 82, he can trace his lineage back to his great-great-grandfather, who was a slave. That is five generations. Now compare his story to that of Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who is running for president of the United States. His autobiography, published in 2022, was titled “America, a Redemption Story” and subtitled “Choosing Hope, Creating Unity.” In its pages, Sen. Scott recounts how his family went from “cotton to Congress” in just two generations.
“The American Dream isn’t a thing of the past, but a miracle of the present,” wrote Sen. Scott. His book has been described as “both a clear-eyed reckoning with our nation’s failures and an ode to its accomplishments, issuing a clarion call for all of us to rise courageously to the greatness within our reach.”
Dr. Ben Carson, a trailblazing pediatric neurosurgeon who also ran for president and later served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Donald Trump, has a similar life story and an equally optimistic message. Raised in the ghettos of Detroit by a single mom, Dr. Carson was determined to improve his lot in life by getting a good education, applying his intellect, and seizing every opportunity to better himself.
Today, Dr. Carson decries the victim mentality that pervades many minority communities and our society as a whole, and is living proof that anyone can – through personal faith in God and lots of hard work – succeed beyond their wildest expectations.
Yes, regardless of race. And yes, without being compensated by innocent third-parties for injustices suffered by distant relatives many generations ago.
For the past 247 years, Americans have refused to be victims. On the contrary, we have been victors who met every challenge, overcame every adversity, and defeated every foe. Let’s not stop now.
