Oakland Man Was Slave

Dr. Henry C. Williams says he was a slave the first twenty years of his life in Henry County, Alabama. As the son of a sharecropper, he received no money for his labor in the fields, rather he and his family only received goods such as food and clothing from the landowner. This sharecropping was virtual slavery and Mr. Williams claims he, his family and all black people are due damages in the form of reparations. “Slavecropper” Williams is organizing 40 Acres and a Mule Reparations March, scheduled for October 24-27, 2008 in Washington DC.

“We are asking the President and Congress for billions of dollars per year to build and rebuild Black communities all over America. We do not want it all at once, but annually, as the Native Americans receive their money. Reparations would go toward supporting the homeless, building homes. It would help those released from prisons and jails, training them to build housing and other reconstruction projects needed in our community.”

Dr. Williams says reparations will go toward addressing mental health issues such as unresolved grief and the post traumatic stress derived from slavery. It would be for mentorship that would match young men with elders so they can receive proper guidance, regain confidence, self-esteem and courage.

The ex-slavecropper Williams noted that Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s family derived their wealth from slavery and sharecropping. His grandparents owned a plantation of 2,000 acres with 52 slaves, and thus John McCain should share his wealth with descendants of slaves.

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