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| Disciples
call for national apology [7-18-01]
The Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) on Monday called on the U.S. government
to issue a national apology to people of African descent for slavery.
The vote came at a joint business session of the Disciples with the
United Church of Christ. The two denominations, meeting jointly in
Kansas City. The UCC passed a similar resolution, but without called for
a national apology. |
| Convict
leasing in Alabama sheds new light on the possibility of reparations
[7-18-01]
The proposal has been made that some kind of reparations should be made
for the American practice of slavery, as a way to redress in some way
past injustices and to heal present social wounds. The
213th General Assembly recommended that the subject be
studied.
A recent front-page report in the Wall Street
Journal, by Douglas A. Blackmon, offers some new perspectives on
this proposal. Gene TeSelle provides this summary:
Alabama, more than other southern states, got into
convict leasing because of industrialization in Birmingham. One of the
beneficiaries was Tennessee Coal, Iron & Rail, already in business
during the Confederate years. It was taken over by U.S. Steel in 1907,
and Judge Gary ordered the use of convict labor to be stopped. But it
wasn't. There is what locals call a "U.S. Steel cemetery" in a
deserted portion of Birmingham, which deserves further investigation.
All told, at least 40,000 state prisoners were leased
to private enterprises, mostly between 1900 and 1922; in addition, 51 of
the 67 counties leased their prisoners. During those twenty years the
state got $17 million in leases (about $250 million in today's dollars).
Companies saved labor costs, and they even got additional income by
spending less on food and lodging than what the state paid them. The
practice (legal under the 13th Amendment, which permits involuntary
servitude if one is "duly convicted" of a crime) was stopped
in 1928 on humanitarian grounds.
Of course the current version of the same thing is
found in privatized prisons and a new form of convict labor for the
benefit of corporations.
Blackmon draws a parallel with recent payments made by
German corporations. But a U.S. Steel spokesman says it is too far back
to assign any responsibility, and that it would be improper to penalize
people who have inherited assets from that long ago.
| Click
here to go to the home page of the Wall Street Journal. To
get past that you will need to subscribe ($59 a year, or $29 for
print subscribers) or register for a two-week free trial.
Or you can listen
to an interview with the reporter on National Public Radio's
Morning Edition. Scroll down the
page to "Convict leasing." |
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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