Lawmakers have been advocating for a federal effort to study slavery reparations for more than 30 years now - to no avail.īut since the widespread protests last year against racial injustice and the inequalities laid bare by the Covid-19 pandemic, the debate has taken on a new urgency. Also, within President Jimmy Carter’s and President Bill Clinton’s presidential records, there are files, memorandums, and remarks of Randall’s activities with TransAfrica that are found in the series Louis Martin’s Files (NAID 140949), Antony Blinken’s Files (NAID 7585787), and the Lorraine Miller’s Files (NAID 3696566).Slavery reparations are back in the national spotlight.Ī House Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing this week to discuss establishing a federal commission that would explore how the US government might compensate the descendants of enslaved Americans.Īnd though the White House press secretary declined to say whether President Joe Biden would sign legislation to develop reparations for slavery, she did say he supported a study on the matter. RG 517 Sound Recordings of Radio Programs, Speeches, and Special Events (NAID 40432506) holds sound recordings of Randall Robinson that includes him discussing his book “The Debt” (NAID 28624402) and participating in a forum on Ma(NAID 286249612). In his role as President of TransAfrica, Randall interacted with several US presidents, and many of these meetings are documented in records held at the National Archives and at the Presidential Libraries. President Jimmy Carter in the Oval Office with TransAfrica Founder Randall Robinson,, White House Staff Photograph Collection, LP-JC NAID 840402 In addition to serving as President of TransAfrica, Robinson taught human rights law at Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law, where in 2016, he was named Distinguished Scholar in Residence.

Clay (D-MO) and an administrative assistant (Chief of Staff) for Congressman Charles Diggs (D-MI). Robinson was also a speechwriter for Congressman William L. Early in his career, Robinson was a Ford Foundation fellow in Tanzania and worked as a civil rights attorney for the Boston Legal Assistance Project. Robinson graduated from Virginia Union University with a degree in sociology in 1967, and earned a J. His older brother, Max Robinson, was the longtime anchor for ABC News. Randall Maurice Robinson was born on July 6, 1941, in Richmond, Virginia to schoolteachers Maxie Cleveland Robinson, Sr. Robinson staged a hunger strike during the former U.S. They were here to attend the inauguration ceremony of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide who was returned as President of Haiti during Operation Uphold Democracy and Operation Restore Democracy. Randall Robinson and his wife wait for the helicopter that will take them to the airport.

The debt what america owes to blacks