WASHINGTON�As the discussion of American reparations payments to the descendants of this country�s slaves has spread among state legislatures and city councils around the country, leaders of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N�COBRA) worked to polish their image as the pre-eminent spokespersons of the growing movement during a week-long conference in Washington June 14-20.

Strengthened by the participation of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF) and the Black Radical Congress (BRC), as well as a Capitol Hill rally of Black farmers, N�COBRA is seeking�during this, its 11th annual conference�to emerge ahead of several competing reparations advocates, as the unifying umbrella organization for activists supporting the cause.

First proposed to Congress in 1867 by Rep. Thaddeus Stevens (R-Pa.), then again in 1896, 1898, 1899, and 1903 before the call fell silent, the reparations demand has moved from the rhetoric of largely Black nationalist organizations which sounded the call throughout the last half of the 20th century, to new prominence in the 21st century.

H.R. 40�the bill introduced every year since 1989 by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) to study whether or not reparations should be paid to Blacks in this country�is now one of the two primary legislative goals of the NAACP, as well as an important goal articulated by the National Bar Association, TransAfrica, the National Congress of Economic Development Commissioners, as well as Delta Sigma Theta and Sigma Gamma Rho sororities.

"I think H.R. 40 will come out of committee," for a vote in the House, N�COBRA co-founder and national co-chair Dorothy Lewis said in a statement. "It is up to us to put muscle behind it."

Rep. Conyers chaired a town hall meeting that included participation by Randall Robinson, president of TransAfrica and author of "The Debt" among others, to identify the damages caused by the enslavement of Blacks in this country, its continuing effects, and possible remedies for repair.

"The more reparations is popularized, the more we will reach the masses of our people," Hannibal Afrik, N�COBRA co-chair told The Final Call. The new-found popularity of the reparations agenda "does not hurt the cause," Mr. Afrik said.

"But there is an inherent danger in the motives and intent of many of these groups who are now championing reparations," he pointed out. "N�COBRA takes the position, as a coalition we embrace any and all groups of African Americans who are struggling to bring reparations. But we believe that we must coalesce around common goals and objectives."

Those goals include: mobilizing support for H.R. 40; educating and organizing a diverse membership base that transcends religious, civic, social, political, and economic boundaries; prosecuting a class-action lawsuit; and maintaining an international network with African governments and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO), in order to win United Nations support for the reparations demand.

The Capitol Hill component of the conference taught N�COBRA�s many grass-roots participants "many things, including the current conditions that require reparations, how affirmative action relates to reparations, and how to work with N�COBRA to strike a blow for reparations," said Adjoa Aiyetoro, chair of the group�s Legal Strategies Commission.

"In the marketplace, reparations is the attention-getter that forces America�s attention on its race problem," said Kalongi Olusegun, N�COBRA national treasurer. "Our demand for reparations will at least garner an apology and demonstrate our oppressor�s acceptance of its crime against humanity."

"We are for the people," Mr. Afrik said. "We are determined that the people�s interests be represented in any reparations negotiations. That is why we are mobilizing on a grass-roots level. We do not want any elite group of individuals, or a select body by this government or any other group to make the decision as to how reparations will be quantified, qualified and distributed to our people.

"N�COBRA (has) a track record that is without peer and we demand that before any �deals� are made, that the people, African Americans, the descendants of those who were enslaved will be represented through our organization because we speak for and we represent our people," Mr. Afrik concluded.

The conference was bolstered by a rally by hundreds of Black farmers from 10 southern states protesting the U.S. Department of Agriculture�s poor implementation of a court-ordered consent decree following a class action suit by Black farmers.

"It�s time for partisan politics to be put aside and for both Republicans and Democrats to join together to help America�s Black farmers," said Rep. J.C. Watts (R-Okla.), chair of the House Republican Conference.