The slavery lawsuit

[Guest Bosstones Fan]

I can't believe the group filing this suit actually thinks this is either right or fair.  Slavery been illegal for 137 YEARS now.  And it's not as if a good majority of Americans are PROUD of our country's past and want slavery brought back or anything.  Cry me a fucking river...these people are ALL about money and getting checks in their mailbox for doing nothing and I don't give a damn what they say otherwise.

[Guest RetroRob215]

Do you have an aritcle on this?  I haven't heard about it.

[Guest Some Guy]

It's a bullshit lawsuit IMO.  The people who filed it are greedy schucks who want nothing more than the little racism in this country to rise so they can continur to make money off of it.  If racism goes totally out the window so does Jesse Jackson and other "black leader's" bank accounts.  There is planty of money to be made shaking down big companies and the government off alegations of racism without their fucked.

[Guest Bosstones Fan]

Rob, here you go.  Cut and pasted from Reuters news:

 

---------------------------------------------------------

 

Three More Firms Sued for Slavery Reparations

Wed May 1, 5:41 PM ET

 

NEWARK, N.J. (Reuters) - A class action lawsuit was filed on Wednesday against three U.S. companies demanding reparations for the decendents of black American slaves from firms that benefited from the slave trade.

 

 

New York Life Insurance Co., Wall St. investment firm Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. and Norfolk Southern Corp. were named in the suit filed in federal court in Newark on behalf of Richard E. Barber Sr., a former deputy executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (news - web sites).

 

"This is just another step in a series of upcoming political and legal moves that will address the issue of reparations for American slave descendants," said plaintiff attorney Edward Fagan, who was involved in reaching recent Holocaust settlements with German companies and Swiss banks.

 

"Similar suits will be filed all over the country in the coming months," Fagan added.

 

Last month Aetna Inc., CSX Corp. and FleetBoston Financial Corp. were named in a lawsuit filed by the same group of attorneys in Brooklyn federal court on behalf of a 36-year-old black activist.

 

Barber, who served as regional administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration in the Carter administration, described the suit as "a debt owed to the descendants of slaves."

 

"Certain corporations benefited from the use of stolen labor and built their profits and wealth on the backs of enslaved Africans," he said. "It is finally time for them to account for these historical injustices and to pay back the monies unjustly acquired by their actions."

 

The lawsuit demanded an accounting by the companies for monies derived from the slave trade and that unjust profits be turned over. It also wanted production of corporate documents and the establishment of a humanitarian fund to benefit the black community, lawyer Roger Wareham said.

 

Fagan said the black American reparation suits were similar to Holocaust suits in demanding an accounting of slave labor profits in the same way corporations were required to account for their profiteering from Jewish slave labor during World War Two.

 

Courts also allowed descendents of Holocaust survivors to benefit, which is necessary in the slave cases as none still are alive.

 

According to the suit, one third of the first 1,000 life insurance policies written by New York Life predecessor Nautilus Insurance Co. between 1846 and 1847 were on the lives of slaves.

 

New York Life, one of the largest U.S. life insurers, did not comment on the merits of the suit but issued a statement saying it would provide company records for examination.

 

"Any lawsuits about events 150 years ago face huge legal hurdles, and we believe it is far more appropriate to judge a company by its values and actions today," said William Werfelman, a spokesman for 157-year-old New York Life.

 

"We profoundly regret that our predecessor company was associated with slavery in any way, for even a brief period of time," Werfelman told Reuters. "The fact that slavery was legal in certain parts of the United States at the time doesn't make it any less repugnant."

 

James and William Brown, founders of Brown Brothers Harriman, built their fortunes earning commissions on arranging shipments of cotton grown on plantations that used slaves to England, as well as loaning money to plantation owners for the purpose of buying slaves, the suit said.

 

It suit said that Louisiana records from the 1840s showed the Browns used 346 slaves on their two plantations.

 

A company statement said, "We abhor that slavery ever existed in this country or any other country and have no direct knowledge about the activities of the time as being questioned, nor do we have any records."

 

The suit said Norfolk Southern was successor-in-interest to numerous railroads allegedly constructed or operated in part by slaves.

[Guest Some Guy]

uh...... THERE ARE NO LIVING SLAVES IN THIS COUNTRY TO BE PAID REPARATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest kkktookmybabyaway]

This topic has been talked about for some time, but now I fear that it's only a matter of time before this insanity becomes a reality.

 

Personally, instead of paying anyone a red cent, I'd offer to purchase them a one-way ticked back to the homeland of their choice. If Africa is the chosen place of new residency, then have a great time avoiding the 1000 civil wars going on over there where you could be walking down the street one day and then have your arms chopped off, or live in countries where the AIDS rate is as high as 25 percent.

 

It's funny, everytime I see this topic debated on television the pro-anti-whitey person always gets their ass handed to them by someone like Walt Williams. It makes for riveting TV...

[Guest Frank Zappa Mask]

Even little old liberal me doesn't think this is the best idea. although if it must happen, the money should go in the direction of education, espiecally into inner-city schools, so hopefully it would be used in the correct fashion and we wouldn't have to worry about things like affirmative action....

[Guest hardyz1]

It's totally asinine.

 

Here's the deal for people who demand reparations:

 

I will personally give $15 million to every black person in America who was a slave.  What's that?  Your great great grandfather was a slave?  Well, dig him up and bring him back to life and I'll give him some cash.

 

Otherwise, fuck off.

[Guest Bosstones Fan]

Here's the deal for people who demand reparations:

 

I will personally give $15 million to every black person in America who was a slave.  What's that?  Your great great grandfather was a slave?  Well, dig him up and bring him back to life and I'll give him some cash.

I'll put up another $15 million out of my own pocket.

[Guest TheMikeSC]

This ought to be fun:

 

<<<Three More Firms Sued for Slavery Reparations

Wed May 1, 5:41 PM ET

 

NEWARK, N.J. (Reuters) - A class action lawsuit was filed on Wednesday against three U.S. companies demanding reparations for the decendents of black American slaves from firms that benefited from the slave trade.>>>

 

 

Can they actually prove that these 3 companies EXISTED when slavery was legal? Unless these are the EXACT companies that they were at the time, it's a spurious attempt at an attack here.

 

 

<<<New York Life Insurance Co., Wall St. investment firm Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. and Norfolk Southern Corp. were named in the suit filed in federal court in Newark on behalf of Richard E. Barber Sr., a former deputy executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (news - web sites). >>>

 

 

Can Mr. Barber Sr. prove that a) his family was enslaved and b) that they were enslaved by these specific companies?

 

If not, his suit has no merit.

 

 

<<<"This is just another step in a series of upcoming political and legal moves that will address the issue of reparations for American slave descendants," said plaintiff attorney Edward Fagan, who was involved in reaching recent Holocaust settlements with German companies and Swiss banks. >>>

 

 

Mild difference in that the people who got the Holocaust money were either the victims or the children of the victims---not the great-great-great-great-great grandchildren of the victims.

 

And the Holocaust victims mainly got back what was physically stolen from them. It's hard for somebody to place a price tag on somebody's life---but leave it to lawyers to make an attempt.

 

 

<<<"Similar suits will be filed all over the country in the coming months," Fagan added. >>>

 

 

God willing, they will all be laughed at. I know they won't be, but they should be.

 

 

<<<Last month Aetna Inc., CSX Corp. and FleetBoston Financial Corp. were named in a lawsuit filed by the same group of attorneys in Brooklyn federal court on behalf of a 36-year-old black activist. >>>

 

 

And, again, this "activist" needs to show that HE was personally harmed by these companies. Otherwise, it'd be no different than me claiming that the U.S government owes me money because Reconstruction was so painful for many Southerners.

 

Aetna writing policies on slaves isn't exactly causing him any harm.

 

 

<<<Barber, who served as regional administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration in the Carter administration, described the suit as "a debt owed to the descendants of slaves." >>>

 

 

BWA HA HA HA HA!

 

I'd like to believe that your lifespan being doubled here might be thanks enough. How about you being able to read and eat regularly? The lack of civil wars might be nice.

 

 

<<<"Certain corporations benefited from the use of stolen labor and built their profits and wealth on the backs of enslaved Africans," he said. "It is finally time for them to account for these historical injustices and to pay back the monies unjustly acquired by their actions." >>>

 

 

Umm, just checking---are there ANY plans to attack those who SOLD the slaves? They were the ones who most directly benefitted from the slaves.

 

 

<<<The lawsuit demanded an accounting by the companies for monies derived from the slave trade and that unjust profits be turned over. It also wanted production of corporate documents and the establishment of a humanitarian fund to benefit the black community, lawyer Roger Wareham said. >>>

 

 

Well, good luck to them in proving, concretely, the family tree of this Barber putz. Also, good luck in them proving that any of these companies directly profited from his families' problems.

 

I could also mention that the money to pay this clown for his suit will be partially be paid by BLACK policyholders---but hey, don't let that contradiction slow ya down, Corky.

 

 

<<<Fagan said the black American reparation suits were similar to Holocaust suits in demanding an accounting of slave labor profits in the same way corporations were required to account for their profiteering from Jewish slave labor during World War Two. >>>

 

 

Except, of course, that the Holocaust victims hadn't died MANY years before they decided to file suits and all.

 

 

<<<Courts also allowed descendents of Holocaust survivors to benefit, which is necessary in the slave cases as none still are alive. >>>

 

 

There is a difference in allowing the CHILDREN of Holocaust survivors to profit and allowing people who are NUMEROUS generations removed from the "crime".

 

 

<<<According to the suit, one third of the first 1,000 life insurance policies written by New York Life predecessor Nautilus Insurance Co. between 1846 and 1847 were on the lives of slaves. >>>

 

 

And how is that profiting from the slaves, exactly? At the time, legally, they were property.

 

And, technically, New York Life ISN'T Nautilus Insurance Comp., so they're not really liable.

 

 

<<<New York Life, one of the largest U.S. life insurers, did not comment on the merits of the suit but issued a statement saying it would provide company records for examination.

 

"Any lawsuits about events 150 years ago face huge legal hurdles, and we believe it is far more appropriate to judge a company by its values and actions today," said William Werfelman, a spokesman for 157-year-old New York Life. >>>

 

 

Indeed. I don't want to see these companies cave in and settle out of court (which is EXACTLY what these lawyers are praying for). I want them to fight the suits and counter-sue for court costs.

 

 

<<<"We profoundly regret that our predecessor company was associated with slavery in any way, for even a brief period of time," Werfelman told Reuters. "The fact that slavery was legal in certain parts of the United States at the time doesn't make it any less repugnant."

 

James and William Brown, founders of Brown Brothers Harriman, built their fortunes earning commissions on arranging shipments of cotton grown on plantations that used slaves to England, as well as loaning money to plantation owners for the purpose of buying slaves, the suit said.

 

It suit said that Louisiana records from the 1840s showed the Browns used 346 slaves on their two plantations. >>>

 

 

You can't punish a company based on what their founders did before they STARTED the company. Geez, I'm not a lawyer and I can find all of the weaknesses in this case.

 

 

<<<A company statement said, "We abhor that slavery ever existed in this country or any other country and have no direct knowledge about the activities of the time as being questioned, nor do we have any records."

 

The suit said Norfolk Southern was successor-in-interest to numerous railroads allegedly constructed or operated in part by slaves.>>>

 

 

Again, "successor" isn't the same thing as "the company that directly profited".

                          -=Mike

 

...Who will lose much respect for black America if they really get behind this idiocy.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

Assholes like Jesse Jackson keep racism alive, if there was no racism then he'd be out of work...he is a piece of shit in the truest sense of the word.

 

It's sad that people can use an issue like this that honestly involves them no why what so ever and line their pockets with it. They shouldn't be allowed to proffit off the blood of others.

[Guest cdstunner66]

The biggest problem with these lawsuits, as ridiculous as they are, is these people don't seem to realize that if they were to win they would cause a lot more harm than good. First of from a business standpoint, if these companies are forced to pay reaparations, what will happen? They will be forced to lay off a sizable number of workers. In that number, I guarantee you there will a number of blacks. What happens then? More lawsuits. For example, one company named was CSX. The basis of their being named is that they are a railroad company that benefitted from tracks built by slave labor. OK, this is a working class company, that I know has a majority of black employees. I know this because a company I worked for handled the CSX retirement plan and I talked to and met with a number of their employees and also saw their company census information. So if CSX has to lay off people, most of them will be black. Aetna, Fleet and all of the other companies named all have black employees that will be harmed by these lawsuits.

Second, if this case were won, and reparations were paid. There is a very good chance that it would tear up the country, if not spark the beginings of an all out race war. Something nobody wants. Too many people, who had absolutely no connection to the slave trade will be punished and as a result be pissed off. For 99% of the, I hesitate to say "white", American population either thier ancestors hadn't even gotten to this country at the time of slavery or their ancestors never owned slaves. They want to punish everybody for a "crime" that wasn't illegal when it was committed.

[Guest ant_7000]

I think its bullshit and im black, its not fair to punish people now because their ancestors had slaves, why wait so long to sue in the first place anyway? I understand if they tried to sue sometime after the civil war. I dont think Jackson is behind it thou, its probably some radical black group that hate and bitter to whites.

[Guest TheMikeSC]

I think its bullshit and im black, its not fair to punish people now because their ancestors had slaves, why wait so long to sue in the first place anyway? I understand if they tried to sue sometime after the civil war. I dont think Jackson is behind it thou, its probably some radical black group that hate and bitter to whites. >>>

 

 

If money is to be made, Jackson will be there.

 

I read somewhere that Cochran was one of the lawyers for this suit---but if an article discussing this has quotes and NONE are from Johnnie, it probably isn't the case.

           -=Mike

[Guest DrTom]

Let's see... let's tie up the court system by taking money from people who had nothing to do with slavery and giving that money to other people who had nothing to do with slavery.  No wonder people think our legal system is such a goddamn joke.  These cases should be laughed out of court, and the only reason I can think of that they're even tolerated is the accusations of racism that would surely fly if they were dismissed before trial.

[Guest Ripper]

Ok, I am totally against it and all, but can't japanese americans recieve reperations for the whole war camp thing?? If so, then it isn't so stupid for them to file the law suit.  I don't think they should win, or even file it at all, but the precident has been set I do beleive.

[Guest ant_7000]

I also understand where they are coming from the suit, since Japanese got reperations during WWII and I think suit stems from the post civil war when free slaves were promised 40 acres and a mule thing (im not sure about it), so the suit isnt too outrageous as one would think, but I still think they shouldnt get a cent.

[Guest Some Guy]

WWII was 55 years ago and they got reparations within 20 years of the war (I'm not sure when exactly). Slavery ended officially in this country by Constitutional amendment in 1865 and was effectivley stopped in the North a few years before that.  That's 137 years ago, Lincoln was actually shot and killed on April 20 and 21st respectively that year so it is slightly more than 137.  That's the difference, the statute of limitation has passed IMO.  137 years is quite a long time, there probably isn't even and grandchildren of former slaves still living and I wouldn't expest the taxpayers through government to pay for something that happened to my great grandfather.

[Guest TheMikeSC]

I also understand where they are coming from the suit, since Japanese got reperations during WWII and I think suit stems from the post civil war when free slaves were promised 40 acres and a mule thing (im not sure about it), so the suit isnt too outrageous as one would think, but I still think they shouldnt get a cent. >>>

 

 

BUT, the Japanese who got compensation for being interned during WWII were the actual people who were interned.

 

When it comes to slavery, no slaveholders nor slaves currently live. Their children don't live. Their grandchildren likely don't live.

 

You can't punish (or reward) anybody based on what happened to their ancestors.

             -=Mike

[Guest TJH]

Isn't wasting the time of courts a crime?

My vocabulary is not extensive enough to accurately discribe how stupid this lawsuit is.

[Guest Ripper]

True, slavery ended 137 years ago officially, but a case can be made for the mistreatment of blacks long after that.  Until the Civil Rights movement, blacks were still treated as 3-4 class citizens.  They still couldn't vote, they were getting unbelievebly subpar education due to the segregation and the lack of funds given to black schools...and so on and so forth.  Now, I whole heartedly agree with helping out lower income coummunities, inner city schools and such with additional funds.  If they want to call it reparations, so be it, just as long as the money gets there.  I don't believe that any PERSON should revieve a check for the suffering of their ancestors, but I wouldn't be against  blacks (especially southerners) in from the 40's, 50's, and 60's saying "Hey, who about some reparations over here!!"

[Guest TheMikeSC]

True, slavery ended 137 years ago officially, but a case can be made for the mistreatment of blacks long after that.  Until the Civil Rights movement, blacks were still treated as 3-4 class citizens.>>>

 

 

But who would pay for damages? The government?

 

Sorry to tell you, but that would include money given by those who were mistreated.

 

Whites? A lot of whites didn't like the mistreatment.

 

 

<<<They still couldn't vote, they were getting unbelievebly subpar education due to the segregation and the lack of funds given to black schools...and so on and so forth.>>>

 

 

Which makes the current trend of blacks DESIRING segregation (especially in college) all the more baffling.

 

 

<<<Now, I whole heartedly agree with helping out lower income coummunities, inner city schools and such with additional funds.  If they want to call it reparations, so be it, just as long as the money gets there.  I don't believe that any PERSON should revieve a check for the suffering of their ancestors, but I wouldn't be against  blacks (especially southerners) in from the 40's, 50's, and 60's saying "Hey, who about some reparations over here!!">>>

 

 

It's not like the government hasn't given PLENTY of money to the "disadvantaged" over the years.

 

You know, that whole "War on Poverty" thing that worked OH so well.

              -=Mike

[Guest ant_7000]

<<<They still couldn't vote, they were getting unbelievebly subpar education due to the segregation and the lack of funds given to black schools...and so on and so forth.>>>

 

 

Which makes the current trend of blacks DESIRING segregation (especially in college) all the more baffling.

I don't think blacks are desiring to be segregated in all the schools I think its a comfort and unity issue, at my college we're somewhat segregated one group is on one side and one is on the other, and its not like hey we dont want you guys over here type of thing because they can hang out with us and some do and some don't thats fine, Well anyway I do feel that the Government should put more money into poor schools.