Black Restitution

Since the beginning of slavery in the United States, an unspoken separation between blacks and whites has existed in this country. Blacks are known to be stereotyped by whites, and blacks usually stereotype whites. Though this separation exists, white have always been known to have the upper hand in America and blacks have made many attempted efforts to relinquish this disheartening fact. One effort in particular was thought up by a man name Randall Robinson who, in his exert titled Thoughts of Restitution, believes that African Americans should receive a sort of restoration, or reimbursement, for all the time and labor dedicated to the whites during the time of slavery. Though Robinson’s theory does make sense, slavery should simply be seen as a part of history that serves as an inspiration for African American perseverance rather than an excuse for America to pay back what they may owe.

Randall Robinson, an acclaimed author, believes that the only way equivalence will exist is if African American’s are “paid back” for all the work that their ancestors did for the white men during slavery. In his exert called Thoughts of Restitution, he states, “if…African Americans will not be compensated for the massive wrongs and social injuries inflicted upon them by their government, during and after slavery, then there is no chance that America can solve its racial problems…”. Though his thought processes may seem logical, the idea of having to make America pay back now for what people did over a century ago, is simply irrational and highly unlikely. Equality is not something that can be achieve through mere payback; rather it is a concept that is given simply at birth, which can be proven by the simple words of our Constitution. 

The idea if restitution does seem logical in the sense that a resolution for the separation between blacks and whites need to be settled with some sort of reassurance from the African American race. However, the thought of having whites to pay for the mistakes of their ancestors many years ago seems more illogical than reality can face. Whites of today's world have not treated blacks with the same disrespect as that of which their ancestors had imposed. The gap between whites and blacks needs to be closed in order to live in a more peaceful world, however, unless a drastic change is made the issue will continue to remain and thrive. 

Robinson, Randall. "Thoughts of Restitution." Revelations. 5th ed. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2002. 295-98. Print.