There has been plenty of talk throughout the years as to how best approach the possibility of paying reparations to the descendants of slaves here in the United States, and the opinions on the subject are nearly as cried as the fingerprints of the nation.
On one end of the spectrum, there are those who believe that the ugly history of American slavery is too far removed from the modern experience to allow for any meaningful accuracy in the gesture. Others believe that anyone who can trace their lineage back to slavery should be entitled to the full wages that their ancestors would have earned in a fair world – adjusted for inflation of course.
Now, one religious leader in Philadelphia thinks that he has a solution for the situation, but that it would take 200 years to complete his plan.
Dr. Eric Mason, pastor of Epiphany Fellowship Church in Philadelphia, suggested reparations including centuries’ worth of college tuition during his sermon Sunday morning.
Dr. Mason argued that the United States need to adopts a variety of social reforms to address race-based disparities, preaching a sermon titled “A Biblical Case for Reparations.” He proposed a series of policies that would go beyond mere welfare because, according to the preacher, programs like Social Security were “created for white people.”
And here’s where that lengthy timeframe came into play.
Mason zeroed in on education, saying that the United States government should fund historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) fully for 200 years, pay the tuition costs for descendants of slaves for the the next 200 years, and cancel student loan debt for all black graduates, even compensating those that have already paid off their debts.
“HBCUs funded for the next 200 years. Next 200 years. And right after that? You ain’t get this, did you? Descendants of slaves not paying for college for 200 years,” he said. “Nobody. And canceling every black person’s student loan debt. And repaying blacks who paid for student loans.”
Given just how long it has taken for the nation to get to this point, one can only imagine that there will be resistance to a plan that would take 200 years to fully develop.
