Horowitz's inexperience hinders his refutation of reparation cause

The plan to distribute reparations to African Americans for past injustices carries many merits but some shortcomings as well. These shortcomings, however, certainly can be presented in a more perspicacious and compassionate manner than David Horowitz presents them in his recent essay, "The Debt," written in response to the controversy over the ad he bought in several college papers.

In deeming African Americans more privileged than any other African on earth, Horowitz fails to acknowledge the fact that relative black prosperity in the United States is not a function of social equality in America. When our founders shaped the United States, they considered the examples of many societies and republics gone awry and were able to develop a system in which humanity's inherent ambition is harnessed in a generally productive fashion.

And while this environment has in many ways led to America's present status as the most prosperous nation in the world, it certainly has not translated into equal opportunities for all groups. African Americans were assimilated into this society as second-class citizens and as a result were not given the tools to confront the social disparity they faced. This is a tragic truth for which the U.S. government has never admitted itself culpable, something that surely can be interpreted as a social debt owed by America as a whole to African Americans.

Horowitz goes on to dispute the ideas of Randall Robinson, a leader of the reparations movement, who convincingly criticizes some of the more commonly venerated aspects of America's history by bringing to light their exclusion of its black population. In response to Robinson's claim that continued glorification of Thomas Jefferson represents continued glorification of a white-dominated society, Horowitz openly pronounces that it was the statement that "All men are created equal," and the implications thereof that led to the liberation of the slaves. Horowitz seems to forget that at the time Jefferson made that statement, slaves were generally considered sub-human and thus were not included in the category of "men" who were created equal. Granted, Jefferson's statement took on a more ecumenical meaning in subsequent years, but the statement in its original context could hardly be interpreted as attacking slavery.

Horowitz further criticizes Robinson's "hatred for America," claiming that Robinson's manifesto, "The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks," is "a model of what is wrong with the reparations cause." Such a statement illustrates a certain lack of understanding on Horowitz's part. Randall Robinson spoke here at Princeton during Black History Month and very clearly presented his conceptualization of the African-American experience. He gave specific examples from American history — such as the reverence of monuments to white men built by black slaves — as evidence of a society that still is not ready to surrender its identity as a white-dominated culture. While Robinson's interpretation of the facts can be debated, the passion of his personal experience cannot. Robinson looks to history in attempting to discern for himself as a black man the reasons for the social disparity present among races in the United States today. It has taken me, as someone who has not personally experienced this, many conversations on this topic — many emotionally draining listening sessions — to start to come to grips with the emotional hardship imposed on different ethnic groups as a result of what racial inequality gives rise to — racism, general unfairness, exclusion and so on.

However, Horowitz's unwillingness to confront the crux of Robinson's arguments is actually somewhat understandable. In his speech, Robinson presented America through his own eyes. The lenses he wears as a black man justifiably lead him to point out many things he sees needing change in America. Such an interpretation of the culture of the United States is foreign and frightening to Horowitz, as it questions the foundation on which members of the white majority have been reared, the idea that is central to our country's identity: The greatness of America is not to be questioned.

But the fact remains that America is not perfect, and it has made mistakes. It is tragic that America has been remiss in not redressing in some fashion slavery — certainly a crime against humanity. Whether reparations are the best means by which to address this unfortunate fact is an issue that should continue to be debated. In the meantime, critics of the method should try to fully understand the situation before criticizing the idea of reparations. Only then can sound arguments be made against the strategy. David Tukey is a molecular biology major from Hamilton, N.J. He can be reached at dstukey@princeton.edu.