Harriet Tubman to President Lincoln-“God won’t let You Win the war until You Do Justice 1st!”
The Stone in the Water does not know how hot the Hill is parched by The Sun-African Proverb
Beyond The Rhetoric: Our First Experience with Reparations by Harry C. Alford for The Dayton Weekly News
We have often discussed the need for Reparations for the 400 years of slavery. The Contexts of the discussions continue on as if We never had a chance with any form of Reparations. I discovered back in the 1990’s that We indeed had a go with a form of Reparations. The biggest problem was that We did not adequately exploit it nor pass it on to following generations.
My Curiosity got going when I read up on the first Black Congressionally elected Officials. They were elected as part of the Reconstruction following the civil war. One of these Giants was Senator Blanche Bruce from Mississippi. People don’t talk much about these Trailblazers as They were all Republicans-like that has a negative meaning. Senator Bruce during His short tenure ensured that All Free slaves became immediately eligible for the Homestead Act of 1862 which provided immense opportunity for Land Ownership and Wealth Building. In reading up on The Homestead Act, I found the the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a division of the Department of Interior, kept good Records on all activity relating to this program.
This program was a ‘Game Changer.’ Any American citizen could identify government owned land, apply for a claim and receive the property providing They live on it and work it (usually Farming). More than half the nation was applicable and it was meant to generate population and economic growth. This was applicable to Freed Blacks also. I decided to probe deeper. Be careful what You ask; You may get it. I contacted the BLM and asked for a formal briefing. They set up a meeting with Me in Lorton, Virginia and gave Me a great overview.
Then the Deputy Secretary asked if My People were from the south. I informed Him that My People evolved from Bossier Parrish, Louisiana. They declared that Someone in My Family benefited from the Homestead Act. I challenged Him on that. He asked, ” Give Me One of Your Grandfather’s Name.” I stated ‘Thomas Harry Alford.” He put the name in Their very elaborate database and instantly it “hit”. “Thomas H. Alford received a land grant for 160 Acres on March 20, 1916”. I was shocked and My first reaction was that My Grandfather had 40 acres, not 160, or so We all thought.
I walked out of there with a photo copy of the deed, and a whole different mindset on the history of My People. A trip to the courthouse in Bossier Parrish, La. was in order to verify all of this. I arrived in Benton, La. courthouse ready to spend hours researching this “controversy”. Sure enough shortly after the date on the deed an entry was found, “Thomas H. and Fanny Alford awarded 160 acres from the US government”. However, two lines later “Thomas H. and Fanny Alford transfer 120 acres to Mr. Roos”. In My shock I went to the clerk for an explanation.
She chuckled and then said, “It looks like Ol’ Man Roos go to Your Granddaddy”. She then went on to explain that what I had just detected was on act of some of the greatest land racketeering which prevailed throughout the south.. She said, “Follow all activity by Roos and see how He legally connnived land from “Black Folks”. You see My Grandparents were illiterate like most Blacks down south. He, and others like Him, would approach Them and inform Them that He could get Them Free land. Yes, He would make a claim and apply in Their Name for 160 acres at the time. When it was approved He would give Them 40 acres and take 120 acres for Himself.
This guy made a fortune doing this. He would even have a strategy of picking up those 120 acre clumps so that they would be contiguous and he, in the end, would have giant masses of land to develop and flip for big money. All this at the expense of My Grandparents and many, many others Who had a great opportunity before Them but couldn’t get the right technical assistance or government follow through.
I showed My Relatives the documentation and They became angry at Me as if I let it happen (Kill The Messenger). This program lasted for decades and could have taken Blacks to another level of economic power and self-sufficiency. However, this great opportunity came before Us and We just couldn’t pull it off.
A few Blacks were educated enough to take advantage of the program. They would become Prominent Land Owners and Community Leaders. Also, They would become targets for Those envious of Their Acumen and newly claimed power. Life would not be easy as Someone was trying to take that land at every opportunity. Many would soon lose what They had earlier won.
The Wise should strive to achieve four chief objectives (Purusharthas) in One’s life. They are:
1. dharma (righteousness)
2. artha (material wealth)
3. kama (desire) and
4. moksha (salvation).
JUSTICE=Kamasutra/Bedroom. Artha/Boardroom. Dharma/Breathingroom (AKA)
Ecclesiastical Courtship Haiku
Love Leader 1’s Judgment, too
Love’s Got The Booty from The Bounty
From The Treasures of God’s Mercy
Judgment’s Sacred Duty’s as Bounty
Hunter for ingrates’ fuckery
Both Entangle Souls like Bolon Hitch
One’s Dharma’s Boo…One’s Karma’s Bitch
Yes, Sovereign Rights Matter! Valid Arguments Sustained…lies Overruled(AKA)
Just Clean Balanced Nyabinghi Haiku
Chromatic Scale: Ideal View
Oye! All Rise! Here Comes The Justest Judge
Whose Throne is The Mercy Seat
Orgasm Fire Crotch v. Fascism cold grudge
“Snatch Triumph from defeat”
That Big Phat Black Cat Gotcho’ Tongue
Or has Rahab The Phat Lady Sung
Do Yo’ Leaders loot on the down low
2013’s Their Day in Court
Orgasmic Sovereign Rights Root in Youth Who Know
Fascists only make sport
Do Yo’ Titties Droop to The Flo’
1st Tie’em in a knot…then in a bow
Hope has 2win Siblings
Bro’ Irate’s pissed-off…Sis’ Courage Just Set-it-off
What’s a matter You Earthlings
How’s neurotic chatter reduced to cough
Since Love’s non-attached to outcomes…here’s a hint
…The Jury’s in like Flynt
Love, Joy, Peace and Elbow Grease by Basic Black Eagle
