Chalk a big one up for the reparations movement. On December 13th, the US Court of Appeals in Chicago upheld fraud claims brought by African Americans against 15 major US banks, insurers, and transportation companies that concealed their slave trading histories from consumers – knowing all the while that their customers would want this information. In his 17-page opinion, Judge Richard Posner said that a seller of goods who hides his company's slave trading history because he's afraid of losing customers is "guilty of fraud."

“We applaud this historic reparations victory that has taken over 141 years to achieve,” stated Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, the lead plaintiff in the case and Executive Director of the Restitution Study Group. “We want the world to understand that this is not just about the institution of slavery,” she continued, speaking at a press conference in front of the US Court House at 500 Pearl Street in lower Manhattan on the morning following the decision. “This is about people such as James Moody, an enslaved African who was forced to work in toxic coal pits, insured by New York Life Insurance Company – people who were never paid for their labor which helped make the defendants in these cases multi-billion and trillion dollar entities.

“This is my pledge to Aetna, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and all the other defendants in this case,” Farmer-Paellmann concluded. “You and your shareholders will never be free from the demand for reparations until you pay the debt.”

“This is a very significant case,” added Bruce Afran, an attorney who represented Deadria Farmer-Paellmann. “This is the first time that a reparations case has had a victory, and it will be the beginning of others. Just like the tobacco cases began with losses and slowly began gaining wind, the reparations movement will now gather steam in the courts and gain victories.”

Attorney Roger Wareham, who represented several other plaintiffs in the case, explained that this decision means that they can now return to the District Court to address the defendants’ violations of state consumer fraud statutes. Punitive damages for such corporate fraud nationwide could easily run into billions. The plaintiffs also retain the option of going to state courts to pursue claims for the disgorgement of profits.

Wareham also noted that this ruling demonstrates the importance that the mass movement for reparations in the street plays in the judicial arena. “It was the Black community’s active demand for reparations and accountability for slavery that led to the passage of corporate disclosure legislation around the country,” he declared. “These disclosures of hitherto concealed dirty secrets of their corporate past will establish defendants’ liability in these cases.”

Wareham said, too, that they hope that yesterday's decision will spur the New York City Council to catch up with California, Chicago, Philadelphia, and other towns and cities around the country and finally pass the corporate disclosure and reparations legislation which has shamefully sat in committee for over four years now.

Wareham concluded by pointing out that this nation was built on the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the free labor of enslaved Africans. “Racism was the ideological foundation used to justify this crime against humanity,” he stated. “Racism, as the execution of Sean Bell proves once again, continues today. The justified anger and resistance by the descendents of enslaved Africans – the victims of racism today – will not go away without there being redress for those past wrongs. We as lawyers will continue to fight in the courts. We know that people will keep fighting in the streets. We are confident that we will win.”

Other claims that sought recovery of past profits made from slave trading were dismissed in Judge Posner’s ruling because of the lack of federal jurisdiction; however, such claims are still permitted to go forward in the state courts.

For further information, call (917) 365-3007 or visit www.rsgincorp.com.

THE BLACK HOLOCAUST
AN INTERNATIONAL EVENT


The Black Holocaust, A Day of Remembrance is a moment in time for us to stop and honor over 40,000,000 Black women and men, boys and girls and the remnants of a strong race of people that sacrificed their all.

There are more than 220,000,000 Blacks that have been affected by the Black Holocaust and even today is depressing over one half of the two billion Blacks on six continents.

Where do we began with reparation; here in the United States, in Africa, in Asia? The financial resources of the world could not measure up to this monumental task.

The Black Holocaust laid waste to an entire continent and brought wealth to other nations. The Black Holocaust divided an entire race of people over an area of six continents and today the division transcends geographical boundaries.

Any reparation would bankrupt our present day world banking system; however reparation must and needs to begin.

We must start by understanding that the Black Holocaust is the greatest tragedy that has occurred in all the history of mankind; this is significant and where we must begin. We can now end our oppression; we must establish a universal basic income, we must guarantee a universal health care system, we must guarantee affordable housing for everyone and we must protect the universal working class, and today more than 99.9 % of all Blacks are in the working class.

When this is done we will understand where to start with reparation and healing the scares of the Black Holocaust.

Thanks again for your support,
Stewart A. Alexander

THE BLACK HOLOCAUST
A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE


The Black Holocaust began in Africa and has continued in America for 400 years where over 40,000,000 blacks were enslaved, beaten, tortured, murdered, raped, lynched, suffered horrible deaths and drowned in the Atlantic crossing to build the fortunes of a new nation. The Three Strikes Law is the latest chapter of the Black Holocaust; prisons instead of jobs.

We need to keep these 40,000,000 blacks in remembrance for all time and not let our children ever forget who they were. We will set aside February 4th of Black History Month as a national and international day of observance.

On February 4, 2007 we shall honor their memory, starting at 6PM until 6AM the following morning, for 12 hours. There will be no eating, no sports, no recreation, no television, no work and no outside activities, this will be a time to spend with our families and children to remember these 40,000,000 blacks that lost there lives in the Black Holocaust.


WE MUST NEVER FORGET WHO THEY WERE AND WHO WE ARE

Can Justice Prevail? Just a question I like to ask in a future society where we care for our brothers and sisters in love and sharing.

All people shall be armed to the limit of a one shot weapon of their choice.
No armies.
Travel, food clothing healthcare education and shelter to a basic standard shall also be provided to all people.
The unimaginable surplus from the cessation of war can be used to explore space with the new technologies.
Restrictions will be imposed and breeding will be allowed according to individual competition against a general ordeal where 50+ percent fail.
Then we might be able to repair the Home of which we know of no other and survive as a species if it not too late.
There is already too much work to deal with riding the edge of resource depletion / toxic/ radiological loads into a life not threatened by madness.
We must wake up and attempt to heal the wounds from the lash of those above as we rip its grasp away from its former owner.