Newswise — Could a plan to remedy the economic disparities created by apartheid in South Africa serve as a model for reparations to African Americans for the lingering effects of slavery and Jim Crow segregation?
Can a country compensate victims for historic injustices without harming or violating the rights of citizens not responsible for those injustices?
Those questions are the focus of ongoing research by Carlton M. Waterhouse, an associate professor at the IU School of Law-Indianapolis, part of the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus. Waterhouse’s quest for answers has taken him Cape Town, South Africa.
Internationally known for his research and writing on reparations for historic injustices, Waterhouse presented his current project, Rights and Reparations: Remedying the Past without Wrecking the Future, to the law school faculty of the University of Cape Town (South Africa) on Thursday (Dec. 9, 2010).
Waterhouse's research takes a global approach in that it looks at what is happening as South Africa deals with the legacy of apartheid and how that could serve as a model for reparations in the United States and other countries.
“What I am really looking at is the challenge that all reparations programs face when there is a desire to correct some past or historic injustice while at the same time persons who were (not) the causes of those injustices don’t want to suffer or lose opportunities themselves,” Waterhouse said, describing his“Rights and Reparations research.
The professor says his preliminary work reveals the importance of making reparations for philosophical, moral and legal purposes; the importance of respecting the rights of people who were not causes of historic injustices; and the ability to find a balance through a pragmatic approach.
Waterhouse considers South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment program as a “very, very, innovative” approach to providing remedy without encroaching deeply upon the rights of persons who were not responsible for the injustices.
During his South African trip, the law school professor will talk with South African government officials and business leaders about how the Black Economic Empowerment program is succeeding and where it is falling short.
“The hope is to see whether or not this kind of equity ownership program helps to correct some of the structural inequities that are a part of South African society (in order) to see if it might be used as a model in the United States . . . to try to help address some of the structural inequities (resulting from) American segregation.”
The law professor is scheduled to present his findings to date in a law journal article and conferences scheduled for 2011.
While in South Africa, Professor Waterhouse also will participate in the Conference on Law, Culture, Constitutionalism, and Governance being held jointly by the University of Cape Town and the University of Stellenbosch this weekend (Dec. 10-11, 2010).
Waterhouse teaches environmental law, hazardous waste law; reconciliation and reparations; and environmental justice and other courses at IUPUI. In addition to a law degree from Howard University, Waterhouse holds both a master’s degree in theological studies and doctorate in social ethics from Emory University. Before joining the School of Law-Indianapolis faculty this year, Waterhouse previously taught law for six years at Florida International University in Miami, Fla.
RSS