A Michigan church is raising funds to pay reparations to black organizations. In February, the First Presbyterian Church of Lansing gave $40,000 to the Justice League of Greater Lansing. This is the second such payment from the church, which gave the league another $18,000 in 2023. Last year, the church committee voted to raise $100,000 from white congregations to give to race-based groups, including the Justice League, which was formed in 2021 to facilitate reparations payments to blacks.
The Justice League of Greater Lansing, Michigan, claims the reparations are justifiable due to “centuries of slavery, inequality of wealth accumulation, and the failure to live into God’s plan of equality.” Black leaders say the money will pay for educational opportunities, home ownership, and startup businesses.
Some black people, however, say it is not enough. The Justice League previously stated that it wants at least a million dollars from local white people.
The issue is causing increasing division across the country as black groups say they want billions from the US taxpayer, and some politicians agree but have yet to determine where the money will come from, how it will be paid, and to whom.
For example, Democratic Governor of California Gavin Newsom has backed reparations plans in the Golden State but was relatively silent when figures higher than the state’s annual budget were floated.
Some black people say they believe the plans are not feasible, and others object on racial grounds. For example, black attorney Leo Terrell slammed the plans in San Francisco after its reparations committee proposed a $5 million payout to each of the city’s black residents. Mr. Terrell said he would refuse the money and file a lawsuit against San Francisco on racial discrimination grounds. He also declared that the proposals were unconstitutional.
Polls show that around two-thirds of Americans strongly oppose reparations payments. Pew Research reveals that most blacks support the idea, but a majority of whites, Asians, and Latinos are against it.
