AFTER THE BIG BLUE TSUNAMI, LET’S RETURN TO ADDRESSING ILL-GOTTEN GAINS!

Jack L. Daniel · Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Ill-gotten gains are obtained in devious, dishonest, duplicitous, evil, malicious, illegal, corrupt ways. A quintessential example of ill-gotten gains is what transpired when Europeans [1] stole the land now known as the United States and then [2] stole labor from Africans via chattel slavery. These ill-gotten gains’ net worth is yet to be specifically detailed. For example, “…Scholars have spilled a lot of ink trying to estimate the dollar value of labor stolen from black slaves. Considering the breadth of industries involved, and the interconnected nature of markets, such a figure is exceedingly difficult to calculate. However, by summing the hours of labor performed by American slaves, policy scholar Thomas Craemer produced an estimate. He concluded that ‘the present value of U.S. slave labor… ranges from $5.9 to $14.2 trillion in 2009 dollars. Adjusted for 13 years of inflation, the range is $8.2 to $19.6 trillion in today’s money.’ The upper limit of Craemer’s estimate is therefore roughly equivalent to America’s entire gross domestic product!” (Blood in the Bank: Hidden Profits of American Slavery and the Call for Reparations — Hampton Institute)

Similarly, it is next to impossible to assess the value of the ill-gotten gains from the European colonization of America. The more important point herein is that because of the ill-gotten gains related to colonization, appropriate redress is not something such as a “land acknowledgement” which at best is an admission of guilt, but it is by no means appropriate reparation for ill-gotten gains. Nor can we assuage the grief from the original sin of chattel slavery by having a Juneteenth national holiday.

Now that the November 3, 2026 election yielded a BIG BLUE TSUNAMI, it is time for electors and those elected to aggressively address the centuries-long negative consequences emanating from [1] the theft of the land currently known as the United States of America; [2] chattel slavery and its progeny; [3] a systemic, race and gender-based, caste-like, homophobic, xenophobic, White male patriarchal society; and [4] the systemic harms wrought by the incumbent POTUS and his posse.

With a “fierce urgency of now,” the electorate must work with the beneficiaries of the BIG BLUE TSUNAMI to make restitutions for the above referenced ill-gotten gains as they are manifested today. More specifically, steps such as the following should be taken:

• Immediately reduce the cost of living by lowering the cost of childcare, gas, food, education, housing and health. Because of their inordinate impact on the foregoing, we must end the war against Iran and ill-conceived tariffs as soon as possible.
• Citizen groups, elected officials, higher education leaders, and corporate leaders must meet head on the current devastating federal assault on equity and social justice. Together, we must address the systemic forces that contribute to education, health, housing, and wealth inequality.
• There must be a renewed emphasis on developing businesses owned and operated by those who suffered from America’s ill-gotten gains.
• We must aggressively attack race, class, and gender biases in the criminal justice system.
• Immediate steps should be taken to reduce gun-related violence, particularly the use of weapons of mass destruction.
• To make good on the freedoms promised in the Constitution, we must do all that is necessary to protect everyone’s right to vote.

“We the people” should not become mesmerized by the outcomes of the recent November election. It remains the case that “pretty is as pretty does” and “the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” “We the people” must do all we can to help those elected gain the political “receipts”/results that address the consequences of the ill-gotten gains that are foundational to America.

A final caution is offered to the descendants of those who suffered from America’s original sins that resulted in ill-gotten gains. DO NOT PUT TOO MUCH EMPHASIS ON WHAT GOVERNMENT WILL DO FOR YOU. AS THE CURRENT SURPREME COURT HAS INFAMOUSLY DEMONSTRATED, THOSE WHO OBTAIN RIGHTS BY LAW CAN LOSE THEM BY A NEW LAW! AS HAS BEEN SAID BY OTHERS, “BEING IN CHARGE OF CONGRESS IS MONUMENTAL, BUT BEING IN CHARGE OF SELF IS REVOLUTIONARY!” Therefore, for example, “with the fierce urgency of now,” over the next two years, Blacks must strengthen existing and build new civic, social, economic, educational, political, and religious organizations/institutions. We must “wake up each morning with our minds on freedom!”