Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
Reparations
Yesterday being a holiday, Jan and I decided to go out for lunch. We went to our neighborhood First Watch restaurant. The way we were seated, I had my back to the room and Jan had full view of the other diners. It was close to noon, so the place was bustling. Our server was friendly and efficient and busy as all get out. It seemed like she had half the tables in the place, as well as tables on both levels. We watched her hustle to get everyone taken care of as quickly as she could manage.
She was a very attractive young Black woman, wearing her hair in thin braids that stretched down half of her back. When she had a moment to check on us, Jan complimented her hair and asked how long it took to accomplish this work of art. Turns out that she was in the beautician’s chair for five hours while the weave took place. She laughed and said it was about time to take it all apart and that she figured it would take her five days to get the job done by herself. We left her a good gratuity which she said, “Made her day!”. She deserved it and more.
About half way through the meal a family of Indigenous Americans was seated behind me. Jan noticed them and the baby that was part of the small group. She wondered if we were sitting on land that had been taken from their ancestors. I know that Missouri was once home to a number of indigenous groups. A couple of years ago I read a book by Walter Johnson called, “The Broken Heart of America: Saint Louis and the Violent History of the United States”. In this book he graphically describes the treatment of Indigenous Americans who called this area home. I remember some names: Chickasaw Nation, Illini Tribe, Osage Nation. I know there are more people who were violently displaced by settlers centuries ago.
After lunch we went our separate ways to run errands. Around 2 o’clock I listened to a message on my work phone from a reporter at St. Louis Public Radio. She is covering a county council meeting in St. Charles where they are coming up with a resolution against the International Institute of St. Louis. It seems that the IISTL has explored the possibility of resettling refugees who are unhoused and unemployed by the hundreds in Chicago. Most of the refugees are from Venezuela. The council is up in arms about bringing “illegal aliens” to our area. Anyway, the reporter was seeking some clarification on the language used by the council. We talked for about 10 minutes and I tried to answer her questions.
Last night we were ending our day watching some MSNBC report when Jan said she kept thinking about the young woman who was our server, and the family with the baby. She choked up as she talked about how one group had “given” us their land and the other group had “given” us their labor to build it up. She said we had been sitting among royalty. She believes in her heart that we owe them reparations for all the historical wrongs that have been committed against them. She was flat out weeping by this time and I was at a loss for words. Jan is not a person who cries easily so I knew we were in a moment where no words were needed, just a listening heart.
I feel the guilt that she was feeling. The magnitude of any appropriate reparations is staggering. We as white people have historically resented and feared people who don’t look like us, and that ugliness continues to this day. I’m willing to bet that the St. Charles county council people don’t look much like what the population of the United States is becoming – a mixture of diverse cultures, practices and backgrounds coming together to create a new society.
All Jan and I know to do is to keep looking for the next right thing that is ours to accomplish. We need to keep our minds and hearts open to the opportunities to be better humans. Amen.