This is my contribution to Black History Month 2022. My question is: where does the word “black” come from? It is derived from what term? One Wikipedia page states the following: “The word black comes from Old English blæc (‘black, dark’, also, ‘ink’), from Proto-Germanic *blakkaz (‘burned’), from Proto-Indo-European *bhleg- (‘to burn, gleam, shine, flash’), from base *bhel- (‘to shine’), related to Old Saxon blak (‘ink’), Old High German blach (‘black’), Old Norse blakkr (‘dark’), Dutch blaken (‘to burn’), and Swedish bläck (‘ink’)”. Let me recommend the following research entitled “Negro, Black, Black African, African Caribbean, African American or what? Labelling African origin populations in the health arena in the 21st century”. It is an interesting plan proposed by the first black American billionaire, Robert L. Johnson, to the federal government in order to obtain reparations for the damage caused during the time of slavery.

Unfortunately, it seems that there is not a Belizean billionaire of African descent here in this country to propose something similar. In the case of the United States, it would be the federal government that would pay for it. In the case of Belize, that would have to be England to do so, if they agreed. Although, from what little I know, England has said that she did not commit any crime, since slavery was legal at the time. It would be a long struggle to be able to convince the British to make reparation for the damage caused during that epoch. But, anyway, since we are currently celebrating Black History Month in this hemisphere, or rather between Canada, the United States, Belize and the colonized Caribbean islands, since it is not something that is being done all over the world, I don’t think it is being done in Latin America, but I hope that it can be achieved. I think it’s only fair that a reward be given to the descendants of the slave trade era. The future will tell. In the meantime, let me present to you the following information:

America’s first Black billionaire is calling for $14 trillion in reparations to compensate for slavery, Jim Crow, and ‘200 years of systemic racism’

Aleeya Mayo – news.yahoo.com
June 30, 2021
• Robert L. Johnson, America’s first Black billionaire, is calling on the federal government to pay reparations.

• His suggested $14 trillion would be roughly $333,400 per Black person in the US.

• He also urged lawmakers to pass a decades-old bill that would set the stage for reparations.

Robert L. Johnson, America’s first Black billionaire and founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET), is calling on the federal government to pay out $14 trillion in reparations to Black Americans—and he wants a check too. Johnson made the charge in an interview with Vice News published Wednesday. “Reparations would require the entire country to … admit that the result of slavery has been 200 years of systemic racism and for that reason Black folks have been denied $13-15 trillion of wealth,” Johnson told the outlet. “And therefore we as a country now must atone by paying Black people of all stripes—the rich ones, the poor ones, and the middle—out of our pocket.” The figure could equate to roughly $333,400 per person, based on 2019 data from the US Census Bureau that showed there are approximately 41.9 million African-Americans in the US.

The wealth gap between Black and white Americans exists for many reasons. The effects of redlining in the housing market, differences in education, homeownership, lower wages, unconscious and conscious biases, have all contributed. Johnson, now 75, told Vice News that a $14 trillion payout would be enough money to close the wealth gap. However, he says he’s “not exactly optimistic.” There has been legislation introduced to support reparations for Black Americans. A bill to create the “Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act,” otherwise known as HR 40, would be a step towards the reparations conservation if it were to get passed. The bill was first introduced in 1989 by Congressman John Conyers. “HR 40, when it’s passed, will not actually provide reparations for anyone, but what it will do is move us on the road to be more truthful and in direct conversation about what happened,” Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, a civil rights advocacy organization, told Vice News, “we’re also seeing local communities have these conversations, seeing a reparations mindset to some advocacy work to repay Black people.”

There have been local efforts, too, including in Evanston, Illinois which in March became the first town in the US to embark on a reparations plan. The Chicago suburb will spend $10 million in total, starting with $400,000 in mortgage relief for families. Johnson said that reparations should reach Black Americans of all walks of life, even those who have accumulated wealth. Johnson named successful Black people such as Oprah Winfrey, Lebron James, Michael Jordan, and even himself, of all being deserving of a check. “If you’re a successful Black business, the idea is you’ve had enough,” Johnson told Vice News, “but no one ever asks if [a white-owned business] is too rich to benefit from investing in a football stadium, or receiving other benefits like preferential tax treatment or liquidity injections from the Federal Reserve.”

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February 5, 2022
Finca Solana
Corozal Town