> THE LONDON GUARDIAN 8 JANUARY 2000
>
>
> Paying up
>
>
> The black diaspora in Britain and America need both education and cash to
> propel them forward
>
>
> Gary Younge
>
> Saturday January 8, 2000
>
>
> As a promise it was well-intentioned; as recompense it was feeble; but as a=
> rally-cry for economic compensation it still resonates. Well over a centur=
> y after the offer was first made, some African-Americans are still demandin=
> g that their country honours its vow and grants them their birthright: 40 a=
> cres and a mule. =
>
> As an emotional demand for compensation for the indignities and inequalitie=
> s of slavery it remains a potent symbol. It has installed itself in the bla=
> ck American lexicon. In the mid-80s, film-maker Spike Lee named his product=
> ion company 40 Acres And A Mule; in 1992 Janice Giles wrote a novel titled =
> 40 Acres And No Mule. As a single-transferable jingle to mark a commonly he=
> ld grievance for the black diaspora in America and beyond, it is catchy. Bu=
> t as a wishlist it is hopelessly antiquated. =
>
>
> At the time, the black diaspora was predominantly rural and depended primar=
> ily on agriculture for its livelihood. Today it is mostly urban, and those =
> who have a livelihood are concentrated among the low-paid service and publi=
> c sectors. A patch of land and a mule would be of little use to black minor=
> ity communities nowadays. It is time for an update. =
>
>
> But before we project into the future we must first take stock of the past.=
> The story takes us back to the dying days of slavery. With the American ci=
> vil war drawing to a close, General Sherman met with black leaders in Savan=
> nah, Georgia, to find out how they would define the freedom coming their wa=
> y. =
>
>
> Their response was practical. They wanted land they could call their own so=
> that their new political independence could be backed up by economic self-=
> sufficiency. Sherman duly issued an order which set aside 7,600 square mile=
> s, protected by the US military, with 40 acres of tillable land per black f=
> amily, alongside other provisions like a mule or horse to work the land. By=
> autumn of the same year, President Andrew Johnson reversed Sherman's Field=
> Order, returning the land to the Confederate rebels from whom it had been =
> confiscated. And so a grudge was born. Given the centrality of consumerism,=
> and particularly labels, to today's black youth culture, teenagers might b=
> e tempted to go for what looks good rather than what lasts. With music and =
> fashion high on the agenda, 40 pairs of Nikes and a DVD player would go dow=
> n well, although it would leave very little to pass on for the next generat=
> ion. =
>
>
> With the criminal justice system still weighted against the black community=
> , 40 good alibis and a decent lawyer would be far more useful. After all, i=
> t's difficult to move up in society when there are such overwhelming odds t=
> hat you will get sent down. =
>
>
> But it would be a great injustice to those who first negotiated with Sherma=
> n to pin the hopes of the next century on injustices that keep us back rath=
> er than concentrating on those things that could propel us forward. We will=
> leave the important work of redeeming the value of stolen land and labour =
> that was slavery and colonialism to the reparations movement. This is one s=
> logan that should not descend into 40 polemics and a million-man march. =
>
>
> But casting around for a truly practical plan in the middle of a technologi=
> cal revolution is not easy. Our world of work is changing so rapidly that a=
> lmost as soon as it is touted it will look out of date. Forty megabytes and=
> a laptop would seem like a good plan, given modern trends. Technological i=
> nnovations have generally prompted the kind of economic and social leaps th=
> at have left the bulk of the black community struggling. =
>
>
> "Blacks have participated as equals in the technological world only as cons=
> umers," wrote Anthony Walton in the American magazine Atlantic Monthly earl=
> ier this month. "Otherwise [they exist] on the margins of the ethos that de=
> fines the nation, underrepresented as designers, innovators, and implemente=
> rs of our systems and machines. As a group, they have suffered from somethi=
> ng that can loosely be called technological illiteracy. Though this has not=
> been the point of technological innovation, it has undeniably been its fal=
> lout." =
>
>
> Research shows that black people use the internet less than white people. S=
> ome of this could be accounted for by economic factors. Black people are ov=
> errepresented among the poor; the poor, in turn, are underrepresented on th=
> e web. But, according to a study by Vanderbildt university in the US, even =
> when income differences were taken into account, white students are far mor=
> e regular participants in the information revolution than their black count=
> erparts. =
>
>
> The trouble with building castles in cyberspace is that no sooner have you =
> mentioned something connected with it than it seems obsolete. Lest we forge=
> t, not so long ago 40 floppy disks and a Sinclair ZX81 would have sounded c=
> utting edge. =
>
>
> So for something that will stand both the test of time and mark a positive =
> step forward, we really need to go back to basics. Forty acres and a mule w=
> as a call that emerged at a time when land was at a premium and the black e=
> xperience was primarily rural and agricultural. For today's black people, i=
> t is not land but labour and capital that are the key issues. Labour becaus=
> e, thanks to low levels of educational attainment and high levels of exclus=
> ion, they find themselves in the most vulnerable situation in the world of =
> work; capital because even those who do succeed academically find they do n=
> ot have the financial wherewithal to enter the labour market on their own t=
> erms. So let the cry go out and the T-shirts be printed: we need =A340,000 =
> and a scholarship. =
>
>
> Not that even this would be without its drawbacks, both ideological and pra=
> ctical. The problems facing black communities in the diaspora are collectiv=
> e not personal; black people are discriminated against as a race, not as in=
> dividuals. While money and education can help, they will not, in themselves=
> , get rid of discrimination. According to a recent report by the Joseph Row=
> ntree Foundation, a high and rising proportion of young African men are obt=
> aining good educational qualifications. Yet their unemployment rates are hi=
> gher than for any other ethnic group. African graduates in their 20s are se=
> ven times as likely to be unemployed as their white counterparts. =
>
>
> Moreover, once the goods have been doled out there will be no guarantee of =
> success. Some might blow the cash; others might make a mint. Some may drop =
> out of college; others might excel. The days of 40 panaceas and a utopia ar=
> e long gone. But none could say that they had never had a chance. =
>
>
> Guardian Unlimited =A9 Guardian Newspapers Limited 2000 =
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