Reparations, its complicated.

Posted on: August 9, 2020 at 09:12:43 CT

Have been reading some research on Antebellum era slavery in the U.S. According to Henry Louis Gates, freed blacks owned a significant portion of slaves in several States. The numbers are surprising. Gates surprisingly found that about the same fraction of freed blacks owned slaves as in the white population.
Did Black People Own Slaves?
https://www.theroot.com/did-black-people-own-slaves-1790895436

Of more interest to me are the statistics for Missouri. According to the 1860 census, only 2.3% of Missourians owned slaves. Only four slave owners held over 100 slaves. Most slaves were held on small farms working side by side with the owner's family. That was the case in my family. Great, Great, Great Grandpa H. owned nine slaves and gifted three of them to my Great, Great Grandpa W.

One consequence of slavery is the mixed ancestry of many modern AAs. They are both the descendants of slaves and of slave owners, some of which were freed blacks. Should reparations become reality, how exactly will the government determine who pays and who is paid?