There are disproportionately unfavorable results for descendants of slaves, which can only be explained by the fact that slavery existed in the first place; repairs were not made, and now is the time to make them. The past shapes and conditions the present. Senator Mitch McConnell argues, "I don't think reparations for something that happened 150 years ago for whom none of us currently living are responsible is a good idea". Privileged folks can easily argue that those who are currently living shouldn't be held responsible, yet the slaves' descendants to this day face inequalities. The racial wealth gap and things that happened in the past created these inequalities in the first place. The least we can do to honor the ancestors who built our country is for their descendants to get recognition and reparations in a monetary form. Whether it be funding the communities to build better homes and school systems or paying those descendants who are still healing from the events leading to generational trauma and suffering, though the damage is irreparable and led to generational suffering. We cannot let the descendants go through more trauma and pain for things that happened in the past and are forced to face today's effects due to the lack of repair. Jack Daniels should change their name to include Nearest Green and give him the recognition he deserves; his story was left untold for many years, and now is the time to take accountability and address their wrongs. Furthermore, Jack Daniels should allocate money to the descendant of Nearest Green. Though reparations will not serve justice for everything done in the past, slavery was so horrific that there could be no compensation that could make amends with all the wrongs in the past. Still, America needs to start addressing its wrongs, and reparations are the first step in doing so. What happened in slavery is something our black communities are still healing from, it had an impact on communities that are appreciable and need to be paid back. 

In Lynchburg, Tennesse Nearest began to work on a farm in the mid-1800s, this farm belonged to a man named Dan Call, a preacher who also owned a whiskey distillery, and Green was the one doing the distilling.  In the mid-1850s, a young boy came to work on Dan Calls's farm and he helped the preacher out with whatever he could, and finally, one day he met with Nearest Green. Dan Call asked Nearest to teach Daniel everything he knew.  The technique Nearest perfected of filtering his whiskey was passed down to him from West African. It is always thought that slaves only provided physical labor, but "Slaves did more than provide physical labor. If Green taught Daniel to distill, said Michael Twitty, a food historian, he probably would have drawn on generations of liquor-making skills: American slaves had their traditions of alcohol production, going back to the corn beer and fruit spirits of West Africa, and many Africans made alcohol illicitly while in slavery." Nearest had the generational skills, and because of his skills, he was able to teach Jack Daniels all his skills. As the boy grew older, they began selling the whiskey. The 13th amendment was ratified on Nov 6th, 1865, and Jack Daniels purchased Dan Call distillery and named it after himself and he asked his mentor, friend Nearest, to be his master distiller. And soon after, Jack Daniels grew so big to what it is today. Jack Daniels and Nearest were very close, and it's understandable why Jack Daniels chose not to add Green's name in the past since he wanted his product to be sold. Though his company began to grow after the 13th amendment was ratified, he didn't want to face a decline in sales due to racism. What Nearest Green and his family needed most at that time was money. People weren't ready to accept that the whiskey's creator was a black man. But today, not including his name is inexcusable! 

Jack Daniels's company to this day is not taking accountability for its actions. They are more concerned about their sales than honoring those who devoted their lives to building Jack Daniels. "A business built on slave help may not seem like a selling point, which may explain why Jack Daniel is taking things slowly. The Green story is an optional part of the distillery tour, left to the tour guide's discretion, and the company is still considering whether it will flesh out the story in new displays at its visitors center." Their sales won't be affected at all, and if anything, their sales will increase since they are choosing to respect the creators of the whiskey. It is so sad to see that Green's story is an optional part of the tour despite him being Daniel's mentor and the actual creator of Jack Daniels. Additionally, It's so upsetting to see Jack Daniels only taking accountability when they are pushed to do so by black folks. The company never gave Nearest Green credit until black folks pushed them to do so. 

It's so sad to see that black folks have to fight for their rights to this day, and Senator Mitch argues that people today shouldn't be held responsible. Then who should be held accountable? Why is it that America doesn't want to address the wrong they have done in the past and rather ignore it saying it's not our responsibility! The irreversible damage that slavery inflicted shouldn't only be one organization or company's responsibility to help repair but rather the government's responsibility as a whole. Black Americans are the group that has been systematically discriminated against by the US government. The lack of transformative assets in non-white, lower classes, for example, helps the whites earn more for the same education; as a result, inherited wealth can lift a family beyond achievements. Students whose parents cannot afford secondary school because they live paycheck to paycheck, on the other hand, are obliged to take out loans as a result, which is often a barrier for many. Others are compelled to work full-time to attend college, and as a result, many people become disillusioned. Moreover, if people with privilege work hard, their hard work pays off more than someone who does not have inherited wealth. Today, education has become a consumer product, thus exacerbating existing inequality. Many assume that hard work is the only contributing factor and focus less on the racial wealth gap and the past, which created the inequity. Why are there reparations for native Americans, Japanese Americans but not the descendants of the slave??  

The slave descendants still feel the lasting effects of slavery when elder white folks give them a dirty look or when police officers disproportionally target the blacks in the community. It's interesting when Jack Daniel's company only took accountability when black lives matter went global in 2016. It's almost like they wanted a pat on the back for crediting Nearest Green, the brand's creator. The least they can do is firstly rename the company and secondly pay the descendants of the slaves who helped build this company and give the Nearest Green family a share in the company because the descendants of Green's family continue to work to this day in the company. Jack highly respected Green and but it is devastating to see that today the descendants are not getting the same benefits as Jack Daniels descendants.  

There is no way to pay back the slaves for the work they have done, the amount of work they have put in to build our country. And nothing can repair and serve justice to the damages done to the black community and the slaves by privileged folks, but the least we can do is recognize and rectify the relationships. Allow them to have a good education and encourage them to have it.  Racism still exists today; there are lasting effects of slavery, and paying the descendants is the least we can do to honor their ancestors who built our country! It should stop once the racial disparity does not exist anymore; once the racial wealth gap doesn't exist anymore, once black folks are not disproportionately the target. Jack Daniels should take accountability for their actions and correct them by honoring Nearest and his family.