The City Council of Chicago unanimously approved a new city ordinance on Oct.2, requiring all businesses that deal with the city to disclose any association with African-American slave trading in their company's past.The 44-0 vote on October 2nd set a precedent, as Chicago became the first city in America to adopt such a historical litmus test.
Companies that do acknowledge links to slave trading will still be allowed to do business with the city, but those who do not disclose information required by the ordinance will not. Furthermore, if it is revealed that a company lies about its past, the company's contract with the city will be immediately nullified.
Dorothy Tillman, who did not return phone calls from the Chronicle, is alderman of Chicago's 3rd ward, was the major author of the ordinance, and fought to gain its approval.
"We want to know what was your role in slavery," she told blackvoices.com. "What did you do, was your company built off the backs of slaves. If they answer wrong, they can no longer do business with the city."
Ms. Tillman has gained national fame as an activist, beginning her career as a staff member for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. while she was only a teenager. Currently, Ms. Tillman is one of the most outspoken proponents of a plan to provide reparations to black Americans.
Supposedly, she believes this Slavery Era Disclosure Ordinance will help lay the ground for an impending lawsuit seeking reparations. That was the intent of a resolution passed in 2000, asking Congress to begin formal hearings on reparations. Now, the council plans to also urge the Illinois Legislature to pass a state-wide law, similar to the new Chicago ordinance.
Ms. Tillman is going after established large corporations because she believes their success would not have occurred without the use of slave labor. In an interview with foxnews.com she mentions, "It was because of the free labor of blacks. It was because of all of the suffering we took and we did that made America so powerful."
Although a similar law was passed in California several years ago, it only applied to insurance companies. Some insurance companies in the nineteenth century insured slaves as they were in transit from Africa. The original language of the Chicago ordinance was the same as California's, but Ms. Tillman amended the proposal at the last minute to include any corporation doing business with the city.
"The insurance industry is just the tip of the iceberg," Tillman said in an AP story. "The financial industry, textile industry, tobacco industry, railroads, shipping companies and many others got rich off the suffering and free labor of our ancestors."
Even though companies that are forced to admit "wrongdoing" will be allowed to continue business, many are wary of future consequences for such actions. According once again to blackvoices.com Tillman said, "Reparations will be dealt with through our attorneys. We're talking about repairing the damage of 400 years. We expect these companies to repair the damage that they've done."
Although the amount of these "repairs" is yet to be determined, there is already a lawsuit against three New York City companies seeking $1 trillion in damages. Many see the quest for such large sums as a backdoor attempt at redistribution of wealth and a new form of welfare. Others see it as fair compensation for African Americans disadvantaged by past oppression and just punishment for corporations who made profits in the early part of America's history.
Whatever the case, the approval of this ordinance in Chicago is sure to add momentum to the growing push for reparations. Ms. Tillman has already heard from several other major American cities interested in drafting similar ordinances. It will take some time for the effects of the ordinance to become noticeable, but once they do, the economy and accounting scandals might be the least of the worries for corporate America.
