Early Reparations Movements

February 20th, 2002

In My Face is Black is True Mary Frances Berry argues that the movement led by Callie House, which demanded pensions for ex-slaves, was a poor people's movement. She uses records from the movement, as well as government records (the state spied on the movement), to show that it was predominantly led and made up by poor blacks, mainly ex-slaves. According to Berry, House and many of her followers were “racial outlaws” who transgressed racial boundaries and refused to accept the accommodationist stance of Booker T. Washington. Middle or upper class blacks like Washington were generally hostile to the movement or ignored it entirely. Most black newspapers, generally controlled by those same elite blacks, either ignored the movement or ridiculed it.

Berry argues that the state was intensely hostile towards the movement. She uses government documents to show that state officials believed the movement had the potential to incite unrest and/or undermine the prevailing racial order. When black realized the government would not grant their demands for pensions government officials believed it could spark rebellion by disappointed blacks.

Berry argues that the state attacked and ultimately suppressed the movement. The postal service refused to carry mails from the National Ex-Slave Mutual Relief, Bounty, & Pension Association. The government harassed House and ultimately arrested her on mail fraud charges. Relying on court documents, Berry persuasively shows that the case against House was itself fraudulent, based on misrepresentations of the movement and its activities, and that she did not receive a fair trial. Berry uses the memoirs of Emma Goldman, who was imprisoned in the same prison as House, to understand House's experience in jail.

Berry sees the movement for ex-slave reparations as a precursor to later reparations movements. She shows that ideas of pensions for ex-slaves persisted through the thirties, if not later. Her epilogue discusses later reparations movements and attempts to keep the memory of House alive.

My Face is Black is True is an excellent work of academic history that is worth reading for anyone interested in African-American history. It persuasively shows that movements for reparations began with former slaves themselves while examining the link between race and class. It also highlights how political repression in the US is often disguised as non-political prosecutions.