Reparations for descendants of enslaved people

Reparations programs for descendants of enslaved people are a suggested strategy to repair psychological and material damages from slavery and racial discrimination^{5, 6, 7} and to close the racial wealth divide^{3, 8}. Surveys and interviews of Japanese Americans who survived World War II internment camps suggest reparations can increase faith in the government, provide closure and emotional relief, and may alleviate economic hardships⁹. Congressional approval for a commission to study and propose a federal level reparations program could be the first step to establish reparations for slavery in the U.S.¹⁰. Additional evidence following the implementation of a federal reparations program is needed to confirm effects.

Reparations may reduce health disparities between white and Black Americans by addressing the vast gap in resources on both individual and community levels. The connection between good health and access to resources (i.e., quality housing, education, fair wages, safe work environments, clean air and water, healthy food, etc.) has been established and reparations can improve access to resources for Black Americans. Reparations may also reduce stress, support healing from trauma, and improve current and future health outcomes for Black Americans^{4, 11}. Data analysis suggests reparations would have reduced the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black Americans¹².

Apologies and recognition of historical wrongs are considered a critical component of reparations programs, though they are not sufficient by themselves¹³. Experts suggest reparations programs support education to develop and maintain national consciousness of America’s racial history^{6, 14, 15}. Lack of recognition of past trauma and ongoing discrimination is part of the minoritization and dehumanization of Black Americans that devalues their identity, social condition, and memory—which increases negative identity development, low self-esteem, stress, and suffering¹⁴. Reparations can express remorse and establish a positive, respectful relationship between perpetrators and victims that focuses on equal citizenship, recognition, and social status, as well as building civic and social trust. When genuine expressive reparations are combined with monetary investments, reparations programs can offer hope and begin the healing process, which may help victims and perpetrators work together productively to achieve common goals^{13, 16, 17}. Experts caution that poorly executed reparations efforts are likely to exacerbate negative feelings and contribute to the need for litigation and protest^{13, 16}. Careful design, implementation, and evaluation is needed for reparations programs to effectively close the racial wealth divide¹⁸.

After World War II, the U.S. government paid $1.6 billion in reparations directly to Japanese American survivors of internment camps for civil rights violations¹⁰. In Brazil, reparations laws have been passed with a focus on recognizing groups descended from slaves, increasing public education about the history of slavery, and improving access to higher education with quotas for under-represented Afro-Brazilians¹⁴. The Caribbean Community has a 10-point reparations plan that includes a full formal apology, programs to improve public health, eradicate illiteracy, cancel debt, and meet community technology needs, especially among the most marginalized groups in the Caribbean. The plan also includes efforts to preserve African cultural traditions and histories and to promote education about the history of slavery in the Caribbean⁶. After a series of official negotiations between Israel and Germany, the German government paid more than $15 billion (in 2016 U.S. dollars) in Holocaust reparations, which included individual direct compensation and community funds provided to Israel¹⁵.

Historical awareness is necessary to understand the need for reparations and to provide context for apologies and education initiatives^{6, 15}. However, supporters emphasize the need for reparations policies to be future-oriented and aim for structural change and community investment⁶. To achieve reparative justice, society can focus on taking collective action toward repair, instead of pursuing legal liability or using a legal context for reparations, which presents many obstacles⁶. Using the political and legislative process to establish reparations programs may be more successful, as in the example of German reparations paid for the Holocaust, where the German government acknowledged the historical injustice and approached Israel to negotiate payments and reparations options¹⁵.

Surveys suggest that reparations programs are politically unpopular in the U.S.; however, the degree of support or opposition to reparations proposals varies dramatically from one survey to the next—often based on question wording, framing of the proposed reparations, and who conducts the interview². Some experts suggest that group compensation from the federal government to restructure systems and invest in devastated communities may be more politically feasible than individual payments¹⁹. Public opinion appears to be shifting in response to increased awareness of racism and discrimination, racial inequity, and the role of governments in addressing these issues²⁰.

The cost of reparations proposals varies significantly based on program design and calculation methods. For all calculation methods, experts acknowledge that the government has a debt to pay and the interest owed on the debt increases as time passes¹⁵. The racial wealth divide is a strong indicator of the cumulative effects of white supremacy and the oppression of Black people; successful reparations programs should aim to close the racial wealth divide over time^{3, 10}. A strategy that pools government funds with contributions from institutions, organizations, universities, banks, and insurance companies that profited from slave labor, could be established to pay for reparations. However, experts note that the federal government has the capacity to fund a properly designed reparations program without changing current tax rates, especially if funds are distributed over time²¹.

Reparations are a suggested strategy to reduce racial disparities in income, assets, and financial security between Black and white individuals^{5, 6, 7} and to close the racial wealth divide^{3, 8}. The connection between good health and access to individual and community resources has been established. Black Americans are more likely to live in residentially segregated, undervalued, marginalized neighborhoods with deficient housing, under-resourced, lower-quality schools, fewer job opportunities, limited services, inadequate food supplies, and neglected public infrastructure^{4, 11, 43}. Reparations may reduce health disparities between Black and white Americans by addressing the vast gap in resources on both individual and community levels. Reparations may reduce stress and depressive symptoms, support healing from trauma, and improve self-rated health. Reparations may also improve physical health outcomes for Black Americans, including reducing disparities in disease rates such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, and reducing disparities in premature death^{4, 11}. Data analysis suggests reparations would have reduced the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black Americans¹².