On March 6, 1857, the US Supreme Court decides Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393, declaring that persons of African descent cannot be, nor were ever intended to be, citizens under the U.S. Constitution.

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Excluded from US citizenship (see timeline entry for March 6, 1857), persons of African descent were nationals of their places of origin, it is submitted, throughout the period of time from 1790 when the US Constitution was ratified until 1868 when the 14th Amendment was adopted.

It is further submitted that the adoption of the 14th Amendment should have had no effect of undermining the already accrued reparations claims by, or on behalf of, persons of African descent.

 

Reference:  Dred Scott v. Sandford,60 U.S. 393 (1857)

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Virginia, five decades after ignoring Prince Edward County and other locales that shut down their public schools in support of segregation, is making a rare effort to confront its racist past, in effect apologizing and offering reparations in the form of scholarships. With a $1 million donation from the billionaire media investor John Kluge and a matching amount from the state, Virginia is providing up to $5,500 to any state resident who was denied a proper education when public schools shut down. So far, more than 80 students have been approved for the scholarships and the numbers are expected to rise. Several thousand are potentially eligible. “A New Hope For Dreams Suspended By Segregation,” The New York Times, July 31, 2005 by Michael Janofsky.