“Wealth Transfer”
(The Hill) Robert Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET), is calling for federal reparations for slavery amid national protests and outcries following the death of George Floyd.
Speaking to CNBC Monday, Johnson said that in order to reduce the systemic racial inequality stemming from the nation’s history of slavery, the U.S. government should make $14 trillion available for reparations for the black community…
“Now is the time to go big, short answers to long horrific questions about the stain of slavery are not going to solve the inequality problem,” Johnson told reporters on CNBC. The best way to combat lingering inequalities is through “wealth transfer,” he says.
“Wealth transfer is exactly what’s needed,” Johnson explains. “Think about this. Since 200-plus-years or so of slavery, labor taken with no compensation, is a wealth transfer. Denial of access to education, which is a primary driver of accumulation of income and wealth, is a wealth transfer.”
Johnson also discusses similar disparities in home ownership that further redline black Americans from building wealth comparable to their white counterparts.
Solving these racial disadvantages within the U.S. starts with paying reparations, or damages, owned to generations of black Americans, Johnson says.
