TITLE:
Marketing Reparations for African American Slavery: Building an Ethical Foundation and Consensus among Millennials during a Pandemic
AUTHORS:
Rickey Paul Warner
KEYWORDS:
Casuists, COVID Pandemic-19, Deontology, Millennials, Moral Relativist, Utilitarian, Personal Value Orientation, Reparations, Reparation Cognitive Gap (RCG), Utilitarian, Virtue Ethics
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.9 No.2,
February
5,
2021
ABSTRACT: African American Citizenry
is challenging the moral latitude of America for forced, uncompensated, free
labor since the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. The African Slaves became
captives to Europeans destined for both South and North America and the
Caribbean. Even more devastating than the horrors awaiting them on American
shores, the enslaved had to face horrendous circumstances of survival
subsequent to the treacherous journey itself. Twelve-million enslaved Africans—some
were soon to become Americans—lost their lives during the Transatlantic Slave
Trade. Wooden vessels sailed the Atlantic Ocean transporting human cargo that
was destined to become chattel at auction to the highest bidder. The newly acquired
African Slaves would be registered and transported to nearby plantations. Here
they would earn their keep by sweltering the coffers of the Slave Owner’s production
of spoils destined for the markets. Over the course of several generations, the enslaved
African American production yielded several times their worth. The acquisition
of wealth permeated industries of vast magnitude well beyond the plantation
itself. The African American Slaves labored to meet the debt of manufacturers,
retailers, industrial, commercial and the Slave Master’s demand for many years.
The invisible hand has yielded a surplus of profits that has grown and it has
manifested itself in wealth holdings several times over in the portfolios of
the progeny of their own sons and daughters at the exclusion of the enslaved.
The ethics of America comes into question as the moral indignation and
inhumanity of slavery comes into question. Although America branded itself as
the land of the free and the home of the brave, it has been far less than that
to the enslaved African American. The research is a qualitative and descriptive
study addressing Reparations for enslaved African Americans. Ninety-three
surveys, N = 93 were completed by a
cross section of respondents. This action was supplemented with several focus
group sessions addressing Reparations, Racism, Discrimination, Compensation and
certain Development Issues. Least Square Regression Statistics applied to
analyze the assumptions showed that there are distinct differences in
Millennial’s beliefs about Reparations. However, those differences could be
reconciled because entitlement can be documented and proven. This study is
unique because contrary to popular beliefs, there is considerable disagreement
among Millennials themselves about support for Reparations of enslaved African
Americans. African American Millennials overwhelmingly support Reparations,
while White Millennials do not. Hence, the research investigates the source of
disagreement, and it focuses on bridging the Reparations Cognitive Gap (RCG)
existing between White and African American Millennials. The study also
challenges the COVZY Kids to further advance the claim for Reparations for the
African Americans.