La. Residents Seek Slave Reparations
By BRETT MARTEL 09/03/2002 20:41:25 EST
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - About 200 Louisiana residents identifying
themselves as descendants of slaves filed a federal lawsuit seeking
reparations from companies that allegedly profited from slave labor.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New Orleans, was one of
several that plaintiffs said were being filed around the country Tuesday -
part of an effort that began with a lawsuit filed March 26 in New York City.
The original New York lawsuit seeks reparations from Aetna Insurance,
CSX Railroad and FleetBoston financial services. Tuesday was the
deadline for similar lawsuits against the defendants named in March,
said Raymond Johnson, one of the plantiffs' lawyers.
Tuesday's lawsuits, which seek unspecified damages, added to the list
of plaintiffs seeking reparations from those companies and added new
companies to the list of defendants.
New defendants in the Louisiana lawsuit included Lloyds of London;
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.; R.J. Reynolds; Liggett Group; Brown
and Williamson; and three railroads, Canadian National, Norfolk
Southern and Union Pacific.
Johnson filed the lawsuit shortly before the close of business. Only
Canadian National immediately responded to phone messages seeking
comment.
"Any reparations suit against CN is wholly without merit and CN will
defend itself vigorously," said spokesman Jack Burke in Chicago.
"Neither CN nor Illinois Central, which was acquired by CN in 1999, ever
employed slave labor. In fact, Illinois Central was at the forefront of the
war against slavery during the Civil War and played a central role in
rebuilding the U.S. South."
In addition to Louisiana, new lawsuits were to be filed in federal courts in
Illinois, Texas, New York and California, according to Roger Wareham,
one of the plantiffs' lawyers.
Those filing suit say slave descendants deserve monetary
compensation, even if only in the form of trust funds to improve health
care, education and housing opportunities, because slaves were
prevented from accumulating wealth to bequeath to future generations.
The money slaves should have earned for their work instead went to
companies that directly or indirectly profited from slave labor, they say,
while slaves and their descendants lagged behind the rest of America in
terms of education and opportunity.
"The crime and poverty that African Americans live in today is part of the
aftermath of slavery," said Antoinette Harrell-Miller, a plaintiff and
genealogist.
The lawsuits allege, for example, that certain insurance companies are
liable because they sold insurance coverage for plantation owners'
slaves and for slave cargo on ships. Some lending companies, the
lawsuits allege, gave loans to white farmers who stated in their loan
applications they intended to use the money to buy slaves.
Railroad companies benefited from the use of rail lines built in part by
slaves, Johnson said.
Johnson said more plaintiffs and defendants may be added. Those who
want to be added as plaintiffs likely will have to be able to prove they
descended from slaves, he said.
Several of the plaintiffs who showed up for the filing of the lawsuit wore
shirts that promoted reparations through genealogy.
Barbara Ballard Leonard, a 64-year-old retired high school teacher, said
doing such research is difficult for blacks logistically and emotionally.
"How do you think it makes me feel when to find my great grandparents I
have to look at a list of some plantation owners cows, horses and other
livestock," she said.
The lawsuit also lists as defendants "unknown" companies that may have
profited from slave labor in industries such as sugar cane or tobacco
farming, textile production, lending, insurance and shipping.
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