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The legacy of slavery and racial discrimination continues to cast a long shadow over the United States. One proposed response to this is reparations – a form of compensation for Black Americans who are descendants of enslaved people.
Reparations are essential. What I mean by that is that reparations are meant to fill that missing gap in the lives of Black Americans forever affected by societal oppression and racial injustice.
Reparations Movement Gaining Momentum Across the U.S.
In California, the state Senate advanced a set of reparations proposals Tuesday, including legislation that would create an agency to help Black families research their family lineage and confirm their eligibility for any future restitution passed by the state, according to the Associated Press.
Lawmakers also passed bills to create a fund for reparations programs and compensate Black families for property that the government unjustly seized from them using eminent domain.
I’ve heard people say that reparations are a worthy standard, and then I’ve heard others say that reparations aren’t worth the effort to pursue. And when I heard both sides of the story, I couldn’t help but go back to the root cause: slavery.
I keep thinking, “Were we ever really free?” Were there any “good old days?”
We can live by the standard of reparations, but we can’t live by it without it being a burden to others.
Despite these challenges, the reparations movement is gaining momentum. In 2021, Evanston, Illinois became the first U.S. city to create a reparations program for Black residents. California recently established a task force to study the issue, and several universities have acknowledged their ties to slavery and offered support to Black students.
I think that we should explore reparations in our education. Students need to know about reparations in the school environment and how it affects the way that they think and the way they are being taught. Finding the truth about reparations, a topic debated and discussed for decades, relies on education.
Racial Divide in Reparations Support: Insights from Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center wrote an article about the views of reparations for slavery back in 2022, which says that “views of reparations for slavery vary widely by race and ethnicity, especially between Black and White Americans”.
The Pew Research Center also wrote about Black adults who say that “being Black is extremely or very important to their personal identity” (84%) are more likely to support reparations for slavery than those who say that being Black is somewhat, a little or not at all important to them (58%).
Another source, written by procon.org in January 2024, discusses the top three pros and cons of reparations for slavery. This source says that “reparations are essential for transforming relationships of discrimination and inequity and for mutually committing to and investing in a stronger, more resilient future of dignity, equality, and non-discrimination for all.”
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Restorative Solutions: Reparations for a Just Future
Today, Black communities continue to face systemic racism in education, employment, health, housing, and over-representation in our criminal legal system. These present-day problems have their roots in slavery’s legacy. However, it will take restorative solutions such as reparations to make whole families and communities again.
By confronting this dark chapter in history, the nation can move closer to a more just and equitable future.
Antonio Stinson participated in The Three Pillars Program, a curriculum designed to educate students on the lasting power of creative writing and journalism.