Lawyers Plan Slave Reparations Suit

A powerful group of civil rights and class-action lawyers who

have won billions of dollars in court is preparing a lawsuit

seeking reparations for American blacks descended from slaves.

The project, called the Reparations Assessment Group, was confirmed by Harvard law

professor Charles J. Ogletree and appears to be the most serious effort yet to get American

blacks compensated for more than 240 years of legalized slavery. Lawsuits and legislation

dating back to the mid-1800s have gone nowhere.

“We will be seeking more than just monetary compensation,” Ogletree said. “We want a

change in America. We want full recognition and a remedy of how slavery stigmatized,

raped, murdered and exploited millions of Africans through no fault of their own.”

Ogletree said the group, which includes famed attorney Johnnie Cochran, first met in July

and will hold its fourth meeting in Washington D.C. later this month. AP