It's important for not just this generation but for future generations to know that these men had a role in building the Capitol and the White House. We have to find a way to recognize their contribution and find some fitting way to pay tribute to them. The obvious irony here is that the Capitol and the White House, which stand for liberty, were mainly built by people who were excluded from such liberty. Watts does not rule out reparations for the descendants of the slaves who worked on these specific projects. Any descendants would be difficult to trace, however, since the promissory notes list only the first name of the slave preceded by the word Negro, although the full names of the slave owners is given.
Many folks have a hard time with the notion of reparations for slavery.
This latest revelation makes concrete the contributions of slave laborers. Slaves were denied their freedom by the U.S. government. It owes them a debt for this. Since the families of Japanese Americans who were interned in detention camps during World War II received compensation, the descendants of blacks who were enslaved deserve reparations as well. But reparations are a long way off.