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to people <strong>of</strong> African descent. I don’t know how <strong>the</strong>y are going to pay for it,<br />
but it can’t be that difficult to make affordable and accessible housing for<br />
<strong>the</strong> poor and <strong>the</strong> houseless.<br />
This housing should also be afforded to Native people. Again, returning<br />
land would be an essential piece to this. For instance, if <strong>the</strong>re are vacant<br />
plots <strong>of</strong> land that exist in major urban centers, <strong>the</strong>y should automatically be<br />
given to <strong>the</strong> <strong>Indigenous</strong> peoples and caretakers <strong>of</strong> that land. <strong>An</strong>d <strong>the</strong> federal<br />
government should pay for <strong>the</strong>m to build on that land. It could be used for<br />
housing, for ceremony—however those people want to use that land. But it<br />
should be returned.<br />
RECOVERING OUR ROOTS. Malcolm X taught us, “Of all our studies, history is<br />
best qualified to reward our research.” We need to recover our histories,<br />
which were taken away from us by Europeans. Western states that are<br />
fundamentally rooted in <strong>the</strong> enslavement <strong>of</strong> Africans should provide<br />
resources to help people throughout <strong>the</strong> diaspora find <strong>the</strong>ir roots. This is <strong>the</strong><br />
least that <strong>the</strong>y could do so that people <strong>of</strong> African descent, as much as<br />
possible, learn <strong>the</strong>ir African histories. Working in true partnership with<br />
African nations, which will also mean <strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> predatory International<br />
Monetary Fund loans and o<strong>the</strong>r neoliberal policies that have kept <strong>the</strong>se<br />
nations broke, Western states should also ensure descendants <strong>the</strong><br />
opportunity to visit Africa and learn about <strong>the</strong>ir roots. This is not a call for<br />
people <strong>of</strong> African descent to assert <strong>the</strong>mselves as colonizers <strong>of</strong> different<br />
African nations. We could borrow from Ghana’s “Year <strong>of</strong> Return” and<br />
figure out o<strong>the</strong>r ways to <strong>of</strong>fer citizenship to people <strong>of</strong> African descent in <strong>the</strong><br />
diaspora. 34 While <strong>the</strong> traumas <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> slave trade have erased <strong>the</strong> unique<br />
<strong>Indigenous</strong> African roots <strong>of</strong> people in <strong>the</strong> diaspora, we can still create new<br />
meanings <strong>of</strong> what it means to be an African today.<br />
We also need a revolution in values. One <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> people putting this into<br />
practice is Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, founder <strong>of</strong> Repairers <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Breach<br />
and Moral Mondays. Based in North Carolina, Repairers <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Breach<br />
works with a variety <strong>of</strong> groups to “advance a moral agenda that uplifts our<br />
deepest constitutional and moral values <strong>of</strong> love, justice, and mercy.” 35 In<br />
2016, <strong>the</strong> organization produced a document titled <strong>the</strong> “Higher Ground<br />
Moral Declaration,” based upon five principles advocating for several<br />
priorities: economic justice, <strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> war, universal healthcare, immigrant<br />
rights, LGBTQA+ rights, voting rights, fair labor practices, and fighting for