By Carlos “Carlito” Rovira

The demand for Reparations for centuries of African chattel slavery has always been dreaded by the capitalist ruling class and argued against with contempt by every form of white supremacy, both hidden and open. Bernie Sanders who makes every attempt to project himself as a “socialist” can very easily be proven a complete hypocrite on just the topic of reparations.

Socialists who truly uphold their convictions for an uncompromising struggle against capitalism cannot speak of ending capitalist oppression without fighting for reparations for African Americans, Africa and the entire African diaspora.

The unimaginable colossal wealth in the hands of the capitalist class today was initially created by enslaved African labor centuries ago. The racial injustices that exist today in this country against African Americans, Latinos and all people of color is rooted in this question.

For Bernie Sanders to speak of reparations with indifference only brings to light why his circles of support continue to be just as predominantly white as his fellow contenders in both the Democratic and Republican parties. Reparations for the historically super-exploited sectors of the population is a fundamental matter for those who call themselves Socialist.

Reparations will not just mean economic compensation; its implementation will also require incarcerating those who inherited wealth and their position of social privilege at the expense of Black people. Reparations cannot avoid also addressing putting an end to white privilege and entitlement by decree. A theme that the followers of the Sanders campaign, Bernie Sanders himself, as well as other supposed “Socialists” in the Democratic Party are by their very nature unable to grapple with.

Bernie Sanders’ “sincerity” or “insincerity” is irrelevant. There are many things which he has critiqued about this system which are true, such as the greed of the banks and the entire capitalist class. However, Mr. Sanders is embedded in the surroundings of white privilege. The progress and salvation of working-class people, especially people of color, cannot co-exist in this society with tyrants, exploiters and racists.

Given the social dynamics and historical circumstances of the United States and the extreme reliance on racism by the ruling class, reparations for oppressed people automatically imply the complete expropriation of the capitalist class. Expropriating the expropriators.

If Sanders is opposed to reparations for the descendent of African slavery and the African continent, then he is no different than his colleagues in the U.S. government who serve as safeguards for a system that plunders while brutalizing those who resist from Puerto Rico to Palestine and beyond.

Changing the circumstances of capitalist oppression, including Reparations for the victims of this system, will require a mass movement capable of launching revolution. This is the line of departure between revolutionary socialists and Sanders-type of apologists who speak of a “harmless” kind of socialism, which means something that is acceptable to our oppressors.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/01/bernie-sanders-reparations/424602/

REPARATIONS FOR BLACKS & ALL OPPRESSED PEOPLE