Good morning everyone. We hope you are remaining safe and healthy amidst all that is happening in your country.
Tomorrow is the 25th of the month and we're continuing our series of posts that address the interconnection between trauma and historical labour and sexual exploitation and modern slavery.
Earlier this month, there was an article in Yahoo! that focused on possible solutions to the pervasive problem of labour relations disparity and historic racial inequality in the labour market.
Quite interesting was the way the author, Joerg Rieger, Professor of Theology, Vanderbilt Divinity School, linked the issue to that of reparations for Black people, who are disproportionately affected by labour inequality, and whose ancestors were exploited for their labour through the centuries of African slavery.
He refers to several examples of monetary reparations for past injustices and questions whether the recipients were elevated to a better position and the reasons why particular inequality remained in those countries, societies or people groups.
Here are some quotes from the article, the link to which is provided below.
"Addressing the ongoing legacy of slavery and systemic racism requires not only economic solutions but also improving labor relations and protecting workers against wage discrimination, disempowerment at work, and violations such as wage theft that disproportionately affect workers of color...
Improving labor relations would address systemic racial discrimination where it is often most destructive and painful: at work, where people spend the bulk of their waking hours, and where the economic well-being of families and by extension entire communities can be decided."
These solutions, of course, will hopefully provide a safety net not only for persons of African descent but also provide benefits to others who have faced discrimination or exploitation in employment, "such as women, immigrants and many other working people."
[Yahoo! Link - https://news.yahoo.com/slavery...ering-123744406.html]
We would like to salute PACEs Connection for its creditable work to examine some of the critical factors that contribute to societal and racial inequality in the USA that disproportionately affect Black and Brown people. Those posts and webinars highlight the diverse impacts of the historical trauma, unresolved issues surrounding financial reparations, continuing disparity before the justice system (including abuses and death in confrontation with law enforcement officers and in custody), and how inequality is maintained through certain entrenched political, financial and racial systems.
As we've shared before, there are certain similarities in the experience of our Caribbean people. We hope those in our region who are directly involved in the discussion of reparations for slavery will be able to continue to press for holistic solutions that transform society and provide relief to those impacted by the intergenerational trauma and historical inequality that continue to this day.
Have a safe weekend, everybody!
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