As the move towards reparations gains speed, the practical implication of the plan becomes very complicated. Angela Davis, former Black Panther and vocal advocate for reparations, finds out her ancestors were on the Mayflower and owned slaves. More broadly, only 3% of the population in America owned slaves and about 15% of slave owners were not white. There were not only free blacks in America, but black Americans owned approximately 13,000 slaves. Lesser known, there's the story of the five civilized tribes who also engaged in slavery.

Most of us have at least a passing knowledge of the Trail of Tears. We know that Andrew Jackson, along with many other politicians, forced the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole tribes to relocate to Oklahoma. The trek cost them hundreds of lives. What is less known is that these civilized tribes owned several hundred black slaves. The slaves made the trip with them. When the tribes reached their destination, their leaders, such as John Ross of the Cherokee tribe, rebuilt their wealth on the backs of slaves, purchasing more in the process.

Paul Chaat Smith, curator of the widely praised 'Americans' exhibit at the Smithsonian, found out that his ancestors, Comanche, owned slaves. Although he had advanced degrees in history specifically concerning the Native Americans, it was not something he had been taught in school. He said it almost ruined his love of history but that he believes it needs to be taught. Further the fact that they sided with the Confederacy during the Civil War taught him that the truth stands between us like a "mangy, snarling dog standing between you and a crowd-pleasing narrative."

Tiya Miles, a professor of African-American studies at the University of Michigan, agrees that the ugly underbelly of history needs to be taught. But apparently she still falls into the trap of not wanting to admit culpability oh her ancestors involvement in slavery. She ignores the fact that Native American tribes enslaved each other prior to Europeans coming to this land, instead choosing to fall into that 'crowd pleasing narrative' blaming white people for introducing slavery to the civilized tribes. Even those that want to acknowledge the truth can't seem to go all the way.

Unfortunately the politicians, the media, and those that will profit off of the reparations movement will also ignore history. Reparations is a horrible idea but if it is going to be implemented shouldn't it target those that committed the wrongs and the benefit only those whose ancestors truly suffered under the chains of slavery? Of course not, because it's never about writing a wrong it's about gaining power and money. It's about marginalizing another segment of society.

Lost even further in the conversation is the fact that our children should be taught the truth in schools. They would benefit much more from learning that slavery, bigotry, hatred, and discrimination are human conditions that are not the sole purview of any one group of people but rather infect all demographic groups throughout history. Those conversations and discussions about the truth of history would do much more to bring us together than reparations or any other similar scheme code compliance.