An Open Letter to President Joseph R. Biden

An Open Letter to President Joseph R. Biden

Dear President Biden;

I am the founder and first Chair of the South Carolina Democratic Black Caucus. I was the Affirmative Action Committee Chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party for the 2020 election cycle.  I am currently founder and CEO of the South Carolina Community Black Caucus, a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation. I am a lifelong Democrat.

I am concerned that all the work that you have done as President will be for naught if your presumptive Republican opponent is elected again. But frankly I am also concerned that your support in the Black community especially among Black Democrats, which I firmly believe and pundits seem to believe as well, you cannot be elected without, is rapidly diminishing. 

When it is considered, as it must be, that it was black Democrats in South Carolina who came through for you and who made your win in 2020 possible it is abundantly clear that you will need our vote more now than ever.  

I remember your words after your recommendation that   South Carolina be granted First in The Nation Primary Status you said “ you [Black voters] had my back and I will have your back”. You said we are the reason you are the President. 

In your recent remarks to the members of the Congressional Black Caucus you said,  “I need you; I’m not going to disappoint you, I promise you,” and in your remarks at Mount Airy Church you said “Faith without works is dead.” 

Your accomplishments on behalf of the American people at large have been many. However, and unfortunately you have failed to address the real issue with which Black folk are confronted and one that will not go away. I refer to The wealth gap. 

The wealth gap exists as a result of the forced and uncompensated labor of our ancestors and the systemic, systematic refusal to acknowledge that slavery was protected, advanced, aided and abetted by the United States Government every step of the way. The United States Government has perpetual existence and deep pockets.  

Mr. President, we do not need or want handouts. We simply want what we are owed.  The only right and moral thing to do is pay us. No more kicking the can down the road. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said “we are coming to get our check”. When the debt is paid, with interest, you will solve the fundamental underlying problem that has plagued us and prevented our advancement for centuries. 

The government of the United States owes us between 12-15 trillion dollars in reparations.  Which is also the  exact amount of the wealth gap between black and white in America today. Numbers don’t lie. So here is the reality.  In return for our support again we need your support on reparations. 

It is not too late – but time is running out. There is still time for you to make a bold move that will ensure black support.  

Make a Bold Move

As President of the United States, holder of the office where the buck officially stops, we need you to use your bully pulpit to call for the payment of reparations. No more kicking the can down the road.  

We respectfully request that as President of the United States you make a public statement as soon as possible but before the November election in clear, direct, unambiguous, and unequivocal terms that (1) you support the strongly encourage Congress to pass H. Res. 414 introduced in the 118th Congress by Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) that recognizes that the United States has a moral and legal obligation to provide reparations for the enslavement of Africans and its lasting harm on the lives of millions of Black people in the United States. (2) that you appoint by Executive Order a blue ribbon panel on reparations whose sole purpose shall be to determine the amount of reparations owed, the persons to whom such reparations are owed and concrete suggestions for the method and timetable for payment.  The panel shall be composed of experts in their respective fields to include economists, historians, genealogists and others who shall deliver their findings within one year from the date of creation of the panel. 

I also ask you to find that H. Res 40 to establish a commission to study the issue has been introduced in every Congress since 1989. The issues that the commission would study have been studied for more than a century.  The research is voluminous.  The only questions left to answer is how much is owed and to whom it must be paid.  But it must be done now.  

Reparations efforts are progressing all over and support is at an all time high. The only voice missing is yours. You can get this done by the simple stroke of a pen.  I implore you to consider that time is of the essence. Please act now that we may support you again. 

Sincerely,

Johnnie Cordero, 

President

Categories: Reparations