From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century

Today’s black-white wealth gap originated with the unfulfilled promise of 40 acres in 1865. The payment of this debt in the 21st century is feasible—and at least 155 years overdue. In their book, 'From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century', William Darity Jr. and A. Kirsten Mullen advance a general definition of reparations as a program of acknowledgment, redress, and closure.

Acknowledgment constitutes the culpable party’s admission of responsibility for the atrocity; admission should include recognition of the damages inflicted upon the enslaved and their descendants and the advantages gained by the culpable party. Redress constitutes the acts of restitution; the steps taken to “heal the wound.” In this context, it means erasure of the black-white wealth gap. Closure constitutes an agreement by both the victims and the perpetrators that the account is settled.

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The photo shows the Memorial Corridor at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Montgomery, Alabama.

Photo attribution: Soniakapadia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons