Rating: 
Summary: MUST READ
Review: Mr. Randall's book is a must read for everyone, especially ALL people of color! He articulates his thoughts and experiences so expertly, and really opened my eyes to democracy in America and how Blacks as a whole, still handicapped by slavery and de jure racism, hinder their own advancement. He has whetted my appetite to learn more about African History, America's foreign policy in relation to countries of the diaspora, Karl Marx and communism, Fidel Castro and reparations. This Christmas everyone I know is getting a copy of this book!
Rating:
Summary: Pay the Damn Debt!
Review: Let's get it the hell over with! The estimated 777 trillion-dollar hit our nation will take will be countervailed by the Race industry's getting real jobs. Just think: No more diversity awareness specialists. No more whiny books about discrimination. No more Jesse Jackson. Isn't that reason enough to pay the debt?
Rating: 
Summary: We will all pay for our sins (sooner or later)
Review: I do not believe this book is racial or prejudice. Those who judge this book seem to forget that innocent people were (and still are) violated, beaten, and killed. Today, many black people are followed (stalked) for no reason at all (in the stores/in the streets by policemen) and are beaten in the streets - and THIS is where the fury and outrageous anger comes from with African-Americans. The stereotypes created are ignorant in themselves (created by whites) but why are black people perceived as ignorant. Why is it that perceptions and information from a white persons stand-point is considered valid and from a black persons point of view it is considered wrong/ignorant (negatively)? The people are tired of being violated. I don't care if you are innocent or guilty - every person that walks this Earth has God-given rights. Not to mention that many people have been harassed for no reason other than being themselves and not disturbing anyone around them. For the person writing about Asian Americans - I find it disturbing that people not born in America have all the fruits of freedom when African-AMERICANS can't even walk the streets in peace. There will NEVER be one American as long as people see blacks as 'those people' and not understand the anger and fury in their minds/hearts/voices. I also believe that in the end, we are 'all' going to suffer because we can not and will not get along and come together. The person reading this may not agree but I am not writing this for your acceptance. Not every woman is a size 6 and blond - nor should they be.
Rating:
Summary: God is the protector of the righteous, the debt will be paid
Review: It escapes me why nonafricans read these books when they have no desire to deal with truth or justice. Although you personally may not have oppressed blacks you are not actively tearing down the institutions your forefathers built which to this day continually oppress blacks. Europeans continue to benefit from these institutions and want to play innocent. If its ok to pay jews then pay everyone. Your forefathers said they would pay 40 acres and a mule and renigged on the deal. I think this is an excellent book by a frontline soldier in the liberation of african folks.
Rating: 
Summary: Mr. Berkowitz, I respect your opinion, but...
Review: how on earth can you call me racist for simply stating my opinion about 'The Debt'. Because I disagree with the man, that means I am racist? Is a white man not allowed to disagree with a black man? Is a white man not free to criticize a black man? I thought we lived in a country where freedom of expression was paramount, and that honest criticism was a healthy part of democracy. Or does that only work one way...i.e. when a conservative white man (personally, I consider myself a Libertarian -- I despise Jesse Helms and Al Sharpton equally...I suppose my heroes are Churchill, Truman, and Senator McCain) is being criticized, that is perfectly fine; however, when the tables are turned, the cries of racism abound. I would like to recommend a book for you - "The Lost Art of Drawing the Line" - by Philip K. Howard. I think that it would shed some light for you on the corrosive effects of reverse racism. As to your quote that my argument about not owning slaves and thus shouldn't pay is equivalent to senior citizens' arguments about not paying for schools... an educated populace benefits all -- and common benefits should be paid by all...similar to highways, national defense, and the justice system. (Which, I will grant you, aren't perfect.) However, the payment of these 'reparations' would benefit only a select few at the expense of all...and an arbitrary few at best, seeing as how (as I mentioned) many had opportunities the same or even better than myself. And, if you're so inclined, perhaps you could answer these questions for me? 1. Why, again, am I responsible for events that happened 100+ years before my birth? 2. Why, if America is so horrible, are we beseiged by persons from all over the globe to come here? Why are there so many Mexican nationals willing to risk it all to come here? Why are so many Chinese nationals willing to endure unimaginable suffering to be smuggled here? Where is your outrage directed against the Communist Chinese regime? Do you remember Tiananmen Square, June 1989? 3. Why are so many Americans of Asian ancestry doing so well over here in America, despite being here only 1 or 2 generations and coming here literally not knowing the language? Do you see those folks asking what America owes them? Could it possibly be that some black Americans are failing simply due to their own shortcomings (as many white Americans are)? 4. And speaking of Communism...I read your review of 'The Black Book of Communism.' And I ask you...how can you justify the pure evil that was Stalin and Lenin? How can you justify the horrors of Chairman Mao? How can you justify the forced labor camps of Siberia? How can you explain the 're-education' program of Chairman Mao? How can you not be outraged by the events of Tiananmen Square, the continued repression of the Falun Gong, the continued persecution and unlawful detention of Americans of Chinese ancestry by the Chinese government? How can you not be horrified at Fidel Castro's routine dismissal of human rights? How can you not be disgusted at the way Saddam Heussein uses nerve gas on HIS OWN PEOPLE? Did the collapse of the Soviet Union and the abject failure of its government not make any impression on you as it rotted from within? The United States of America certainly has her flaws, and we are certainly living in a materialistic society with far too little concern for the downtrodden, but I submit to you that we are fortunate indeed to have the opportunity to live here. P.S. Your email listed doesn't work...
Rating:
Summary: This is a racist book whose goal is to misguide
Review: Randall Robinson is a racist, and this is a racist book whose goal is to stir up animosity between the races and make money for Robinson and his gang of racists in the process. Robinson's misrepresentation of history, lies, historical ignorance, and advocacy of blame instead of personal responsibility, combined with illogical arguments, will not persuade the educated reader. Those who know nothing of history will like it, however.
Rating:
Summary: An enigma...
Review: As an American who happens to be Black, arriving at a conclusion that could be cogently presented (which has yet to be decided) regarding Randall Robinson's book, THE DEBT: WHAT AMERICA OWES TO BLACKS, was a significantly greater challenge than I anticipated. First of all, I'm not particularly enamored with the prospect of acquiring 40 acres somewhere in Montana not owned by Ted Turner. Secondly, I suspect if "Uncle Sam" commenced handing out checks to 'qualifying' descendants of former slaves the racial breakdown of the 2000 census would have to be re-examined due to an unexpected spike in blended respondents. Third, as a Black American, am I going to receive an exclusion from the the resultant but inevitable tax increase? Let's face it, if I have to contribute what's the point. BUT, bottomline...while I do not agree with much of his analysis, I completely endorse reading the book. In the introduction he states, "Here my intent is to stimulate, not to sate. To pose the question, to invite the debate." No matter how unpalatable I found many of his postulations, his text most assuredly exceeded so modest an objective. He wrote with passion and in eloquence, interspersing sepulchral African and Black American historical references with anecdotal experiences. Occasionally he included allegorical representations - under the circumstances, arguably an ill-conceived idea - to illuminate somewhat tendentious positions. At times, the ...(smooth) tone transcended to the ...(self evident) and the sacrosanct. My sense is this is not an area which lends itself to a great deal of empirical data, thusly, the book was an exhortative effort rather than a scholarly tome. Mr. Robinson focused on the vestigal effect the pernicious system of chattel slavery has had on present era Black Americans, in addition to the insidious degradation of economic growth in Sub-Saharian Africa and other countries were the African slave trade flourished. One prominent difficulty - at least, for me - was by nature of his profession and interests, Mr. Robinson has an enhanced degree of connectivity to continental Africa and other developing nations not necessarily shared by the wider Black community. That does not invalidate his premise nor is it to be taken as a criticism of his commitment but rather simple acknowledgement of the relative deficiency in Black cultural awareness among many Black Americans. It's hard to embrace a global view when you are struggling to overcome localized encumbrances, and a distinct cause and effect are not clearly manifest. Robinson purports the subliminal impact of slavery has persisted for nearly 150 years, a speculation I find to be atavistic when considering personal eidetic anecdotes. It appeared to be a flaccid restructure of the victimology rationale. My family experience does not support his contention for at least two antecedent generations, I do not subsribe to his premise and I would be loathe to accept similarly abnegated justification from my children in the case of poor academic performance. It strikes me as disingenuous to attempt to attribute generalized race-based underperformance to the same abstruse reasoning. Obviously my experience cannot be extrapolated as representative of the totality of the Colored/Negro/Black experience over the pertinent timeframe but I also question whether my experience is particulary anomalous. I would submit the author's personal family history fails to correspond to his pretext as well. Robinson was at times contradictory. On page 77 he wrote: "In considering the differences in current academic record without considering the original causes to which I have referred would not economic class divisions tell us more - not just about test gaps but about the very notion of race and it's mystifying power to distort perceptions?" However, on page 107, he countered: "There will always be differences in abilities and achievements of individuals, but achievement differences that correlate with race must never be tolerated. That gap must be fully closed." Robinson was unequivocal in outlining his endorsement of the first quote above. He used his younger daughter's exemplary academic performance in substantiation, even though support of that line of reasoning tends to negate the plausibility of race wide deleterious subconscious constraints. In as much as all of the concerned parties in his personal example are Black, any latent effects from the legacy of slavery must be ephemeral and addressable. If hypothetically, the constraints do exist, it appears the first appropriate action is enlightenment and recognition followed by the implementation of some of the other inputs his daughter was privy to, rather than federally instituted reparations. Unfortunately, Mr. Robinson knows it is not so simplistic as extant data fails to demonstrate that economic equalization alone would bridge the gap. And, victimization is the convenient prevailing view. There are other instances of contradictions and circuitous reasoning. Other times, he drifted to the hyperbolic such as his recount of a meeting with a single mother in the Boston area where by utilization of his own brand of fuzzy math he implies the two attorneys accompanying him were in their mid-teens. He conveniently ignores other feasibilities that might serve to buttress the causes of some racial attitudes or exclusions, when acknowledgement of other possibilities would undermine his point. However, all of my objections fail to invalidate his basic intention. THE DEBT... meets the author's objective and is worthy of investigation by others, to assist them in formulation of their own opinions.
Rating:
Summary: please, enough with the excuses
Review: Yet another example of the infuriating current trend among many to shirk their own responsibility for their own fate. Mr. Robinson's book and arguments seem to be the flip side of the same coin that the white-supremacists have been peddling lo these many years -- namely, that everyone else (save, of course, themselves) are responsible for the terrible predicament they are in. Mr. Robinson's book only serves to further 'Balkanize' America -- rarely to you see anyone simply referred to as an 'American' anymore -- it is always 'Hispanic-American', or 'African-American', or 'Cuban-American'... It is interesting to note that I attended elementary school, middle school, and high school alongside black students -- riding the same buses, sharing the same teachers, eating the same meals. Many of them had parents that made more money than I did. Why do we keep hearing the same pathetic excuses from people who (like so many others) simply wasted the vast opportunites available to them in this nation. (Travel around the world, as I have, and see how little opportunity there is in Indonesia...or Bangladesh...or Rwanda.) Yes, slavery was an abomination...but it was OVER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIVE YEARS AGO. Why does Mr. Robinson not mention that many Americans of Asian descent, having arrived in America within the last 50 years (without even knowing the English language), have escaped many of the problems plaguing the black community. Could it be that the differences are cultural? How many times have we heard a black student criticized by his peers by 'acting white' for good performance at school? And as far as 'reparations' go... a. let's first discuss how to repay the descendants of the 350,000 Union soldiers that died specifically to defeat the Confederacy. b. let's then discuss how to repay the descendants of the 500,000 American soldiers and sailors that died protecting all of us from the tyranny of the Third Reich and Japanese imperialism. c. let's then look at the incredibly vast transfer of wealth (mentioned in an earlier review) to the black community over the last 65+ years from FDR's 'New Deal' and subsequent social programs. (Notice...I did not say 'entitlements'.) d. Finally, let us look at the vast majority of Americans whose ancestors came over in the great waves of immigration after the Civil War...tell me exactly how Americans of Vietnamese descent are to blame for the plight of the black community? And, speaking of which, if America is so terrible...why have so many people risked life and limb just to get here? Perhaps Mr. Robinson should ask those brave souls who make the incredibly dangerous trek from China, giving up their life savings, just to be smuggled into America. Perhaps he should discuss how 'wretched' America is with the hundreds of thousands of Mexican nationals who have also risked it all to live and work here. Perhaps Mr. Robinson would prefer to live in China, with their great concern for human rights and the plight of 'oppressed' minorities. Or maybe Mr. Robinson believes that America is to blame for Mexico's woes also.... It is way past time for people to quit living in the past. Nothing can be done to change it. No one living today is responsible for what happened over 135 years ago. Americans living today are among the luckiest people to ever walk the face of the earth. We have more to eat, more to drink, more freedoms, more liberties, than 90 percent of the world today and probably 99.5 percent of all the people whom have ever lived. (Read "Out of America", by Keith B. Richburg, if you want a glimpse of life in the nightmare that is modern-day Africa, and be thankful that you were born in this country. Or take a glimpse at life in today's Afghanistan...where is the outcry about the plight of women under the Taliban regime?) Yet too many among us fail to look in the mirror for the source of their (perceived) problems, never missing an opportunity to keep blaming someone else (usually in another racial group) for what ails them. We are all in this together. No reasonable person minds helping those who, through unforseen circumstances or true tragedy, need a helping hand for awhile. It is long past time, however, to quit blaming others for our own shortcomings, accept responsibility for our own faults, and try to better ourselves, before we point the finger at others -- especially those long-dead souls whom have already been judged by God Himself.
Rating:
Summary: what america owes to blacks: nadda
Review: Those who subscribe to Mr. Robinson's views on this country and its supposed debt to blacks should ask themselves some hard questions. A. While Europeans transported slaves across the Atlantic, who went into the interior and captured them? In Roots, Kunta Kente is captured by 3 individuals, of whom at least 2 appear to be of African origin. Slave-dealing was a 2-way operation. B. What countries still practice slavery today? Sudan. C. Who designed the system of government that eventually freed black America from its enslavement? White guys, a large number of whom were slave-owners. D. Why, for every Rodney King, is there an O.J. Simpson? If America is so psychologically damaging to blacks, why was Marcus Garvey's Back to Africa movement such a flop, especially considering it occured in the 20's, a far harsher time for black Americans than today? I can't answer that one. Bottom line-superb writing, idiotic premise.
Rating:
Summary: oh, for pete's sake
Review: This is one of the most incoherent and ultimately pointless books I have ever read on an issue of such significance. Robinson begins by devoting most of a chapter to a fictional, nameless black college student who, we are told, feels alienated from the symbology of the Mall in Washington DC and knows nothing of his own past. We are to believe these things, apparently, simply because Randall Robinson tells us they are so. It may be that young black Americans typically feel disengaged from America, but I don't think I'm unreasonable in demanding a more solid basis for this than assertions about the unarticulated feelings of a person who does not in fact exist. We are also to accept on faith Robinson's claim that race relations, and the relative status of blacks and whites in America, are static and that "people behave as they always have." We are to accept this in spite of the fact that the black middle class has grown at a more rapid rate than the white middle class; in spite of the fact that black college attendance and graduation rates and black representation in the professions has increased steadily; in spite of the fact that interracial marriage has increased tenfold over the past 40 years (which, whatever your opinion of such marriages, at least suggests the increasing parity of income and lifestyle between blacks and whites, since most people meet their mates in schools or in the workplace). There is no question that America has fallen far short in its obligations; there is no question that blacks have suffered from a tremendous injustice. There is no question that we have an enormous distance yet to travel. However, to claim that NO progress has been made is both dishonest and destructive; if America were as intransigent as Robinson claims he and other advocates of restitution would be well advised to save their energies. While claiming that the burial of African history encourages blacks to accept their disadvantaged status as changeless and unchangeable, his denial of recent American history sends the same message. To paraphrase a previous reviewer here: there are good arguments to be made in favor of compensation for slavery. This isn't one of them.
| 
