But the reparations issue is about more than just money, others say. Further, under tort law, the pursuit of reparations is nothing more than compensation for wrongful death, he argues. Long Way from Payday Even some sympathetic to the idea, though, find it difficult to accept that a cash payment would right the wrongs of the nation's past. In a recent New York Times op-ed piece, black scholar Glenn Loury wrote that atonement cannot be achieved through typical problem solving. The tragic legacy of slavery is a problem that simply will not yield to another application of American ingenuity.
Advocates are a long way from payday.
So far, no one in any position to award slavery reparations has seriously considered doing it. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., has introduced H.R. 40, a bill that would create a national commission to study the impact of slavery and recommend a remedy, in every Congress since 1989, but with no success. Despite the setbacks, advocates are optimistic about recent attention to their mission. The simplest way to accomplish reparations, of course, would be for the government to cut checks to those who deserve them. But finding out who deserves them could be difficult.