Whenever the topic of reparations comes up in conversation, someone will inevitably ask, “How will we figure out how to give out the money and resources?” I immediately think of my grandmother’s wise words. She told me more than once, “If we can figure out how to put a man on the moon, we can figure this out!” When it comes to resource allocation and restitution for the horrors African Americans experienced, as well as the inequities they continue to experience, I think this country can figure out a way to right the past and present wrongs ailing this nation.
Reparations aren’t new for the U.S. government. Over time, the United States has distributed economic payments to numerous groups, from Japanese victims of internment camps to some Native American groups and victims of forced sterilization, to name just a few. The loopholes in some of the reparations given to Native peoples should make one pay close attention to any future promises made by the U.S. government. The United States government has also been instrumental in helping Jewish victims of the Holocaust receive financial compensation from various German and European entities. The idea of nations providing financial restitution for past wrongs is not a new or novel concept.
Some ask who should be a beneficiary of said reparations. Should someone who has recently migrated from an African or Caribbean nation be eligible, even if they may fall prey to racist and unjust American practices? What about African Americans who are economically sound—should they receive benefits that could more readily assist poorer Black people? None of these questions have easy solutions, but there are many ways we can think about fiscal solutions that tackle institutional structures and not just individual pocketbooks. There are also ways we can think about compensation that are devoid of nativist concepts.
I have always bristled at the idea of cash payments for Black people that will just put money back into a white economy and white institutions. If Black people receive taxable cash payments and then buy goods that will further enrich white Americans, where is the progress? I want reparations to change longstanding institutions—I want these changes to help Black Americans create generational wealth. Indeed, a cash payment may help many in the short term, but reparations are supposed to be longstanding and with a concrete recognition of the wrongdoing that has occurred (and in many instances, still occurs).
Money without a fundamental explanation to all Americans about the past and current wrongs lets too many people and institutions off the hook. I applaud the federal and state-wide commissions trying to assess the best avenue to provide assistance. It’s a hard task but not impossible.
Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream”; co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC; host of The Blackest Questions podcast at TheGrio; and a 2023-24 Moynihan Public Scholars Fellow at CCNY.