In significant part, the legal problems, which other remedies have faced, stem from the fact that there are no tight legal precedents for the courts to follow with regard to the other remedies. In contrast, in the case of political autonomy, there is at least one precedent: the creation of Israel.

Following World War II, the Jewish community began pushing for a nation of their own. This drive in many ways resembles the backdrop for a potential African-American nationalist movement. For one thing, the discrimination the Jews suffered at the hands of Hitler parallels in significant respect to the discrimination African-Americans have faced throughout the history of the United States. A Crisis editorial, comparing the discrimination faced by the Jews before the War, declares the similarity between Jews in Central Europe and African-Americans in the United States.

The Jews were disfranchised; so were Negroes in the South. Both were discriminated against in education and employment. Jews were either excluded from beaches, playgrounds and parks or were restricted to recreational facilities specifically designed for them. Jim Crowism humiliated Negroes in a similar fashion. Propaganda of the vilest variety calculated to incite hatred for Jews characterized the German educational system from kindergarten to university. In white America the school system buttressed society's pejorative image of the Negro. Lastly, both Jews and Negroes were treated with great cruelty.

African-Americans did not miss the irony in the treatment of Jews in Europe at the hands of Hitler, and their own persecution at home. In fact, the plight of African-Americans has been aptly referred to as "American Nazism." At least one impetus to the Jewish momentum to create an autonomous separate state was the treatment of Jewish persons during the war. Jewish immigrants fleeing from Hitler were refused refuge by many Western powers, and that refusal feeds a latent sense of Jewish nationalism.

The African-American community, likewise, has suffered at least as much because of discrimination. African-Americans have been oppressed by centuries of slavery and endured seemingly permanent secondclass status. Moreover, the Jewish community felt that Western powers owed them something for loyalty, their service, and their suffering at the hands of Hitler during the war. The commitment to reparations throughout history, despite countless failure, may be construed as testimony of a similar sentiment among African- Americans.

Thirdly, the Jewish community has exemplified a culture synonymous with nationalism. Some might argue that, in contrast to the Jewish community, there is no such thing as Black Nationalism as an ideology to begin with, and, therefore, discussions of political autonomy are ill conceived. However, in much the same way as there is a Jewish culture, there is a distinct African-American culture. Certainly, the African-American culture is on display in music, literature, language, and many other mediums. Historically black colleges and universities have become an important representative feature of the black culture.

Finally, the Jewish community was able to stage a major lobbying effort in the United States, which had something to do with their success before the German courts and in the legislature. While it is true that the African-American lobbying effort has not been nearly as effective throughout U.S. history as the effort staged by members of the Jewish community right after the war, there is plenty of potential. African-Americans, after all, represent a sizeable minority within the United States, have a relatively resourceful middle class, and are represented noticeably in the legislatures and on the courts.

(...)

Reparations could have a moral impact on the African-American community and the U.S. community as a whole. In the case of Germany, for instance, the reparations programs "transformed Germany's social and geopolitical landscape, providing some measure of closure for a most shameful period of history." On reparations to Japanese Americans, one author has it, "redress cure(s) the soul." The same author continues, redress demonstrates "that America does the right thing, (and) that the Constitution works." For many Americans, and despite its obvious shortcomings, it is important to believe that our constitution is infallible, protects its citizens equally, and stands for justice. Reparations may improve the condition of African-Americans in real terms. As discussed above, in comparison to whites, African-Americans are underrepresented in terms of education, income, and good housing; and, at the same time, African-Americans are over-represented in U.S. prisons, the number of AIDS cases, and murder rates. Reparations might do something to close the gap.

Yet, despite the precedents set by other groups in receiving compensation for injustices, reparations for African-Americans has not be given serious deliberation. One of the problems is that the supporters of reparations have centered their arguments on affirmative action, group entitlements, or other race-based preferences, exclusively. As I have attempted to demonstrate this type of myopia has failed in the past and is unlikely to lead to any significant coups in the future.

The public has been increasingly resistant to race-based preferences; other cases involving other groups are too dissimilar to create precedential value for African-Americans; and other forms of reparations are not up to the task of improving, in real terms, the condition of the majority of African- Americans. Therefore, supporters of reparations to African-Americans should look to alternative forms of reparations, including political autonomy. As a start the U.S. government might explore ways to gauge African-American sentiment on the topic. A referendum, for example, could give African-Americans an opportunity to express their opinion on future debate. In the end, never let it be said that the author here contemplates that a majority of African- Americans--or even a significant proportion of African-Americans--would express support for political autonomy as a form of reparations even if given the chance. But, more importantly, never let it be said that the momentum for reparations died because of unfeasibility, futility, or lack of creativity on the part of this author.

(The author is a law student at Yale Law School)