Economics

Rev. Williams Wants to Build a Movement for Reparations

Published

8 years ago

January 22, 2016

By Polly Seaberry

Rev. Henry C. Williams is pointing the way to reparations as a partial economic solution for African Americans. He wants to reach churchgoers, students, families and media outlets to generate interest in a people’s movement and campaign to persuade Congress and the White House to redeem the promises it made to the freed slaves and their descendants.

“Now is the time for African Americans to receive money, gold and land to rebuild our communities and broken families,” said Williams.

In his presentations to churches, he teaches about the pledge contained in the Emancipation Proclamation, which promised 40 acres and a mule for every slave, and the Freedmen’s Bank, which Congress formed to receive their deposits and to make loans.

Williams often begins with the biblical text from Jeremiah 5:1 “Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.”

Rev. Williams says he is called a “Trailblazer for Justice” by other ministers because he wants Black people to take a stand for the money, land and gold owed to them by the government.

“We need restitution for the 400 years of slavery, abuse and broken promises,” Williams says.

“When Blacks search their ancestry and the Freedmen’s Bank records, they will find that our people deposited more than $57 million dollars after slavery from 1865 to 1868 and their deposits were then lent by Congress to white individuals who never paid it back,” said Williams.

“And those deposits are worth hundreds of billions of dollars after more than 150 years of accumulated compounded interest.”

Williams wants President Obama to fulfill President Lincoln’s proclamation.

William stated that some Native Americans received 3.9 Billion Dollars for 1 year of Reparation for the U.S. Soldiers killed them, took their land and destroyed a significant portion of their culture.

He also uses the biblical story of Zacchaeus, the wealthy tax collector, who told Jesus that he would repay the poor four times if he had cheated them, as a teaching tool to help make the case for the justification of a demand for Reparations.

When he preaches about his own family he talks about his Father Pleasant Williams, his Grandparents. His grandmother worked as a Nanny for The Confederate Army.

“Just as the Japanese Americans received reparations for their forced resettlement during WWII and the Alaskans were paid for the installation of the pipeline, African Americans must also be compensated,” said Williams. To contact Williams call (510) 507-3424 or email bishophenrycwilliams@gmail.com

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

1 week ago

April 26, 2024

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Business

Black Business Summit Focuses on Equity, Access and Data

The California African American Chamber of Commerce hosted its second annual “State of the California African American Economy Summit,” with the aim of bolstering Black economic influence through education and fellowship. Held Jan. 24 to Jan. 25 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, the convention brought together some of the most influential Black business leaders, policy makers and economic thinkers in the state. The discussions focused on a wide range of economic topics pertinent to California’s African American business community, including policy, government contracts, and equity, and more.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA), answers questions from concerned entrepreneurs frustrated with a lack of follow-up from the state. January 24, 2024 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, Lost Angeles, Calif. Photo by Solomon O. Smith

By Solomon O. Smith, California Black Media

The California African American Chamber of Commerce hosted its second annual “State of the California African American Economy Summit,” with the aim of bolstering Black economic influence through education and fellowship.

Held Jan. 24 to Jan. 25 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, the convention brought together some of the most influential Black business leaders, policy makers and economic thinkers in the state. The discussions focused on a wide range of economic topics pertinent to California’s African American business community, including policy, government contracts, and equity, and more.

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA) was a guest at the event. He told attendees about his department’s efforts to increase access for Black business owners.

“One thing I’m taking away from this for sure is we’re going to have to do a better job of connecting through your chambers of all these opportunities of billions of dollars that are coming down the pike. I’m honestly disappointed that people don’t know, so we’ll do better,” said Omishakin.

Lueathel Seawood, the president of the African American Chamber of Commerce of San Joaquin County, expressed frustration with obtaining federal contracts for small businesses, and completing the process. She observed that once a small business was certified as DBE, a Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, there was little help getting to the next step.

Omishakin admitted there is more work to be done to help them complete the process and include them in upcoming projects. However, the high-speed rail system expansion by the California High-Speed Rail Authority has set a goal of 30% participation from small businesses — only 10 percent is set aside for DBE.

The importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in economics was reinforced during the “State of the California Economy” talk led by author and economist Julianne Malveaux, and Anthony Asadullah Samad, Executive Director of the Mervyn Dymally African American Political and Economic Institute (MDAAPEI) at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Assaults on DEI disproportionately affect women of color and Black women, according to Malveaux. When asked what role the loss of DEI might serve in economics, she suggested a more sinister purpose.

“The genesis of all this is anti-blackness. So, your question about how this fits into the economy is economic exclusion, that essentially has been promoted as public policy,” said Malveaux.

The most anticipated speaker at the event was Janice Bryant Howroyd known affectionately to her peers as “JBH.” She is one of the first Black women to run and own a multi-billion-dollar company. Her company ActOne Group, is one of the largest, and most recognized, hiring, staffing and human resources firms in the world. She is the author of “Acting Up” and has a profile on Forbes.

Chairman of the board of directors of the California African American Chamber of Commerce, Timothy Alan Simon, a lawyer and the first Black Appointments Secretary in the Office of the Governor of California, moderated. They discussed the state of Black entrepreneurship in the country and Howroyd gave advice to other business owners.

“We look to inspire and educate,” said Howroyd. “Inspiration is great but when I’ve got people’s attention, I want to teach them something.”