What Are Reparations?
Reparations are the moral, legal, and financial measures taken to redress historical injustices. For descendants of enslaved Africans in America, reparations mean addressing centuries of unpaid labor, racial terrorism, land theft, systemic exclusion, and generational trauma.
Why Are Reparations Owed?
- 400+ Years of Enslavement: From 1619 to 1865, African ancestors were treated as property and denied humanity.
- Jim Crow & Segregation: Legalized racism continued long after slavery ended, restricting housing, education, and opportunity.
- Mass Incarceration & Redlining: Modern policies keep communities of African descent disenfranchised.
- Stolen Wealth: Black families were systematically prevented from building wealth, land ownership, or accessing capital.
What Can Reparations Include?
Reparations are not just financial checks. They include:
- Direct monetary compensation
- Land return and access to ancestral property
- Debt forgiveness and free education
- Healthcare and mental health restoration
- Institutional reform and truth commissions
- Investment in Black-owned businesses and communities
Who Supports Reparations?
Scholars, activists, and international bodies (like the United Nations) recognize the U.S. government’s obligation. Leaders such as Ta-Nehisi Coates, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and grassroots coalitions like N’COBRA have long advocated for reparative justice.
Global Examples
- Germany: Paid billions to Holocaust survivors and their descendants.
- Canada: Issued payments and apologies to Indigenous communities.
- U.S. (Japanese Americans): Paid reparations for internment during WWII.
So why not for Black Americans, whose unpaid labor built the foundation of this nation?
What You Can Do
Learn. Share. Organize. Sign the petition. Support local and national efforts that demand justice and repair. Our blood remembers. So must our laws, our institutions, and our future.