Reparations for slavery in the United States

**Reparations for slavery** be de application of de concept of reparations to victims of slavery or deir descendants. There are concepts give reparations insyd legal philosophy den reparations insyd transitional justice. Insyd de US, reparations for slavery have been both given by legal ruling insyd court den/or given voluntarily (without court rulings) by individuals den institutions.

De first recorded case for reparations for slavery insyd de United States be to former slave Belinda Royall insyd 1783, insyd de form of a pension, den since then reparations continue to be proposed. To de present day, no federal reparations bills have been passed. De 1865 Special Field Orders No. 15 ("Forty acres and a mule") be de most well known attempt to help newly freed slaves integrate into society den accumulate wealth. However, President Andrew Johnson reversed this order, giving de land back to its former Confederate owners.

Reparations have been a recurring idea insyd de politics of de United States, most recently insyd de 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. De call give reparations intensified insyd 2020, amidst de protests against police brutality den de COVID-19 pandemic, wey both kill Black Americans disproportionately. Calls give reparations give racism den discrimination insyd de US be often made by black communities den authors alongside calls give reparations give slavery. De idea of reparations dey remain highly controversial, due to questions of how dem would be given, how much dem go give, who would pay dem, den who would receive dem.

Forms of reparations wey have been proposed insyd de United States by city, county, state, den national governments anaa private institutions dey include: individual monetary payments, settlements, scholarships, waiving of fees, den systemic initiatives to offset injustices, land-based compensation wey be related to independence, apologies den acknowledgements of de injustices, token measures (such as naming a building after someone), den de removal of monuments den streets named to slave owners den defenders of slavery.

Since further injustices den discrimination have continued since dem overlawed slavery insyd de US, some black communities den civil rights organizations have called for reparations give those injustices sanso give reparations directly related to slavery. Some suggest dat de U.S. prison system, starting plus de convict lease system den continuing through de present-day government-owned corporation Federal Prison Industries (UNICOR), wey be modern form of legal slavery dat still primarily den disproportionately affects black populations den oda minorities via de war on drugs den what has been criticized as a school-to-prison pipeline.

## U.S. ein historical context
**Insyd colonial times**

De debate on reparations dey reach as far back as de eighteenth century. Quakers, wey were some of de first abolitionists insyd de United States, almost unanimously insisted dat freed slaves be entitled to compensation from their former owners. If an owner repented of ein sin of owning a chattel slave, he dey need to atone give am by making amends. Quakers cited de book of Deuteronomy, insyd wey owners were exhorted to share dema goods plus former slaves.     

During de Revolutionary War, Warner Mifflin advocated give restitution give freed ex-slaves as early as 1778, insyd de form of cash payments, land, den shared crop arrangements. Gary B. Nash dey write dat, "he may fairly be called de father of American reparationism".

### Before de Civil War
Well before dem abolish slavery nationally insyd 1865, abolitionists presented suggestions on wat could anaa should be done to compensate de enslaved workers after their liberation. 

Early insyd 1859, insyd a book dem dedicate to "Old Hero" John Brown, James Redpath declared einself a "reparationist", den implies dat insyd ein view, de lands of de Confederacy should be given to de ex-slaves. He sanso quotes an earlier poem, by William North, that dey refer to "the course of reparation". 

Later dat year, after Brown's execution, Redpath reported insyd de first biography of Brown dat he "was not merely an emancipationist, sana a reparationist. He believed, not only dat de crime of slavery should be abolished, sana dat reparation should be made give de wrongs dat had been done to de slave. What he believed, he practiced. On dis occasion [Missouri raid, 1859], after telling de slaves dat dem be free, he asked dem how much their services had been worth, den—having been answered—proceeded to take property to de amount thus due to de negroes." 

Dey call give permanent confiscation den redistribution of plantation lands had already been made by Representatives George W. Julian den Thaddeus Stevens, both of de Radical Republican faction.

### De Reconstruction period
De arguments surrounding reparations are based on de formal discussion about many different reparations, den actual land reparations wey African Americans receive am wey be later taken away. Insyd 1865, after de Confederate States of America be defeated insyd de American Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman issued Special Field Orders, No. 15 to both "assure de harmony of action insyd de area of operations" den to solve problems wey de masses of freed slaves cause am, a temporary plan granting each freed family forty acres of tillable land insyd de sea islands den around Charleston, South Carolina give de exclusive use of black people who had been enslaved. De army sanso had a number of unneeded mules wey be given to freed slaves. Around 40,000 freed slaves be settled for 400,000 acres (1,600 km2) top insyd Georgia den South Carolina. However, President Andrew Johnson reversed de order after Lincoln was assassinated, de land was returned to ein previous owners, den black people be forced to leave. Insyd 1867, Thaddeus Stevens sponsored a bill give de redistribution of land to African Americans, sana it did not pass.

Reconstruction came to an end insyd 1877 without de issue of reparations having been addressed. Thereafter, a deliberate movement of segregation den oppression arose insyd Southern states.Jim Crow laws passed insyd some Southeastern states to reinforce de existing inequality dat slavery had produced. In addition, white extremist organizations wey include de Ku Klux Klan engaged insyd a massive campaign of terrorism throughout de Southeast in order to keep African Americans insyd their prescribed social place. Give decades dis assumed inequality den injustice was ruled on insyd court decisions den debated insyd public discourse. 

Insyd one anomalous case, a former slave named Henrietta Wood successfully sued give compensation after having been kidnapped from de free state of Ohio den sold into slavery insyd Mississippi.  After de American Civil War, she was freed den returned to Cincinnati, wey she won ein case insyd federal court insyd 1878, receiving $2,500 (~$81,457 insyd 2024) insyd damages.  Though de verdict was a national news story, it did not prompt any trend toward additional similar cases.

#### <big>Post-Reconstruction Era</big>
Insyd 1896, de National Ex-Slave Mutual Relief, Bounty den Pension Association (MRB&PA) be founded give de purpose of obtaining pensions give former slaves from de Federal government as compensation den reparations give their unpaid labor den suffering. Chartered insyd 1898 insyd Nashville, Tennessee, de organization be founded by former slaves Callie House den Isaiah H. Dickerson. According to some historians, de organization be "de first mass reparations movement wey African Americans led am". De organization den ein leaders be hounded plus false allegations den criminal prosecutions until ein last local branches closed insyd de 1930's.        

Insyd 1915, under Callie House's leadership, de association filed a class-action lawsuit, Johnson v. McAdoo, insyd federal court against de U.S. Treasury Department give 68 million dollars. $68 million be de amount of cotton tax collected between 1862 den 1868 den, it was argued, be due to de plaintiffs because dem produced dis cotton den their ancestors as a result of their involuntary servitude. Dis be de first documented Black reparations litigation insyd de US on de federal level. De U.S. Court of Appeals give de District of Columbia denied de claim based on governmental immunity as did de U.S. Supreme Court, wey dey side plus de Appeals Court's decision.       

**<big>2020</big>**   

De topic became a prominent theme during de 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries as concerns surrounding race be heightened due to current events. Dem further amplify am because of African-American people be dying prematurely den disproportionately due to de COVID-19 pandemic. Ongoing systemic racism den police brutality sanso sparked outrage across de country, notably de killing of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American emergency medical technician, wey Louisville Metro Police Department fatally shot am insyd ein home; de murder of Ahmaud Arbery, shot while out give a run by three white men insyd Georgia; den de murder of George Floyd, a Black American killed during an arrest by Minneapolis police after allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill, dat sparked de nationwide George Floyd protests.        

Candidates dat endorsed de idea included:        

* Andrew Yang said dat he supports H.R. 40, de Commission to Study den Develop Reparation Proposals give African-Americans Act, sponsored by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, while speaking on de Karen Hunter show
* Marianne Williamson detailed a plan give reparations insyd an interview give Ebony Magazine.
* Senators Elizabeth Warren den Cory Booker have both indicated some level of support give reparations, according to NPR.
* Tulsi Gabbard be a cosponsor of H.R. 40, de only piece of legislation insyd Congress to study den develop reparations proposals den Bernie Sanders be a co-sponsor give de Senate version of de bill.
Kamala Harris declared insyd April 2019 she supports reparations.

Beto O'Rourke be "open to considering some form of reparations," according to *U.S. News & World Report*. 

Tom Steyer insyd de 2020 Democratic Primaries Debate insyd South Carolina voiced ein support give reparations.

## Proposals for reparations

### United States government
Sam proposals have called give direct payments from de U.S. government. Various estimates have been given if such payments were to be made. *Harper's Magazine* estimated dat de total of reparations due was about "$97 trillion, based on 222,505,049 hours of forced labor between 1619 den 1865, regardless de United States wasn't a recognized independent country until after de Revolutionary War insyd 1787, compounded at 6% interest through 1993". Should all anaa part of dis amount be paid to de descendants of slaves insyd de United States, de current U.S. government would only pay a fraction of dat cost, since it has been insyd existence only since 1789. For two centuries, from de 1700s until World War I, de average wage for one day's unskilled labor insyd America was one dollar.    

According to de Brookings Institution, insyd 1860, ova $3 billion (~$83 billion insyd 2023) be de value assigned to de physical bodies of enslaved Black Americans to be used as free labor den production. Dis be more money dan be invested insyd factories den railroads combined. Insyd 1861, de value placed on cotton produced by enslaved Blacks be $250 million (~$6.66 billion insyd 2023). give de descendants of de 12.5 million Blacks wey be shipped insyd chains from Western Africa, “America get a genetic birth defect wen it comes to de question of race,” as stated recently by U.S. representative Hakeem Jeffries. If America be to atone give dis defect, reparations give Black Americans be part of de healing den reconciliation process.       

De Rev. M.J. Divine, better known as Father Divine, be one of de earliest leaders to argue clearly give "retroactive compensation", den de message was spread via International Peace Mission publications. For July 28, 1951 top, Father Divine issued a "peace stamp" bearing de text: "Peace! All nations and peoples wey be suppressed den oppressed de under-privileged, dem will be obliged to pay de African slaves den dema descendants give all uncompensated servitude den give all unjust compensation, wey be dem have been unjustly deprived of compensation on de account of previous condition of servitude den de present condition of servitude. Dis is to be accomplished insyd de defense of all oda under-privileged subjects den must be paid retroactive up-to-date".

At de first National Reparations Convention insyd Chicago insyd 2001, a proposal Howshua Amariel wrote am, a Chicago social activist, would require de federal government to make reparations to proven descendants of slaves. In addition, Amariel stated "For those blacks wey wish to remain insyd America, dem should receive reparations in de form of free education, free medical, free legal den free financial aid give 50 years plus no taxes levied," den "For those desiring to leave America, every black person would receive a million dollars anaa more, backed by gold, insyd reparation". At de convention Amariel's proposal received approval from de 100 anaa so participants. Nevertheless, de question of wey would receive such payments, wey should pay dem den insyd wat amount, has remained highly controversial, since de United States Census does not track descent from slaves anaa slave owners den relies on self-reported racial categories.        

For July 30, 2008 top, de United States House of Representatives passed a resolution apologizing give American slavery den subsequent discriminatory laws.        

Nine states officially apologize for dema involvement insyd de enslavement of Africans. Those states be:

* Alabama – April 25, 2007
* Connecticut
* Delaware – February 11, 2016
* Florida – 2008
* Maryland – 2007
* New Jersey – 2008
* North Carolina – 2007
* Tennessee
* Virginia – 2007

### Private institutions
Private institutions den corporations be sana involved insyd slavery. On March 8, 2000, Reuters News Service reported dat Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, a law school graduate, initiated a one-woman campaign wey dey make a historic demand give restitution den apologies from modern companies dat played a direct role insyd enslaving Africans. Aetna Inc. be ein first target because of dema practice of writing life insurance policies on de lives of enslaved Africans plus slave owners as de beneficiaries. In response to Farmer-Paellmann's demand, Aetna Inc. issued a public apology, den de "corporate restitution movement" be born. 

By 2002, nine lawsuits be filed around de country coordinated by Farmer-Paellmann den de Restitution Study Group—a New York non-profit. De litigation included 20 plaintiffs, demanding restitution from 20 companies from de banking, insurance, textile, railroad, den tobacco industries.De cases be consolidated under 28 U.S.C. 1407 to multidistrict litigation insyd de United States District Court give de Northern District of Illinois. De district court dismissed de lawsuits *plus* prejudice, den de claimants appealed to de United States Court of Appeals give de Seventh Circuit.      

On December 13, 2006, dat court, insyd an opinion Judge Richard Posner wrote am, modified de district court's judgment to be a dismissal *without* prejudice, affirmed de majority of de district court's judgment, den reversed de portion of de district court's judgment dismissing de plaintiffs' consumer protection claims, remanding de case give further proceedings consistent plus its opinion. Thus, de plaintiffs may bring de lawsuit again, sanso must clear considerable procedural den substantive hurdles first:       If one anaa more of de defendants violated a state law by transporting slaves insyd 1850, den de plaintiffs sabi establish standing to sue, prove de violation despite ein antiquity, establish dat de law was intended to provide a remedy (either directly anaa by providing de basis give a common law action give conspiracy, conversion, anaa restitution) to lawfully enslaved persons anaa dema descendants, identify dema ancestors, quantify damages incurred, den persuade de court to toll de statute of limitations, der would be no further obstacle to de grant of relief.Insyd October 2000, California passed de Slavery Era Disclosure Law requiring insurance companies doing business der to report on dema role insyd slavery. De disclosure legislation, wey Senator Tom Hayden introduced am, be de prototype give similar laws passed insyd 12 states around de United States. 

De NAACP has called give more of such legislation at local den corporate levels. It quotes Dennis C. Hayes, CEO of de NAACP, as saying, "Absolutely, we will be pursuing reparations from companies dat have historical ties to slavery den engaging all parties to come to de table". Brown University, whose namesake family was involved insyd de slave trade, has sana established a committee to explore de issue of reparations. Insyd February 2007, Brown University announced a set of responses to ein Steering Committee on Slavery den Justice. While insyd 1995 de Southern Baptist Convention apologized give de "sins" of racism, wey include slavery.

Insyd December 2005, a boycott was called by a coalition of reparations groups under de sponsorship of de Restitution Study Group. De boycott targets de student loan products of banks deemed complicit insyd slavery—particularly those identified insyd de Farmer-Paellmann litigation. As part of de boycott, students are asked to choose from oda banks to finance dema student loans. 

Pro-reparations groups wey include de National Coalition of Blacks give Reparations insyd America advocate give compensation to be insyd de form of community rehabilitation den not payments to individual descendants.

### Black Lives Matter
Many groups under de Black Lives Matter organization have laid out a list of demands, some of which dey include: reparations, give wat dem say e be past den continuing harms to African Americans, an end to de death penalty, legislation to acknowledge de effects of slavery, a move to defund de police, seizing homes wey white families owned am den providing dem free to blacks, sanso investments insyd education initiatives, mental health services, den jobs programs. These calls give reparations have been bolstered amidst de COVID-19 pandemic den de high rates of police brutality against Blacks.

## Arguments for Reparations

### Accumulated wealth
Housing discrimination played a big role insyd creating de racial wealth gap dat exists today. After de Great Migration of Southern blacks to Chicago insyd de 1940s, dem used redlining to keep former slaves segregated from whites den to prevent black families from getting a mortgage. Thus dem be forced to buy houses for contracts top from real estate speculators, wey be a scam. Not only did dis cause thousands of Black Americans to lose dema homes den dema money, e sanso created wat be known today as ghettos den prevented Blacks from accumulating wealth. Today, de average white family has roughly 10 times de amount of wealth as de average black family, den white college graduates have ova seven times more wealth dan Black college graduates.    

De wealth of de United States was greatly enhanced by de exploitation of African-American slave labor: sam argue e be de bedrock give de U.S. economy den capitalism. However, former slaves den dema descendants be among de poorest demographic insyd America. According to dis view, reparations would be valuable primarily as a way of correcting modern economic imbalances.      

Insyd 2008 de American Humanist Association published an article wey argued dat if emancipated slaves had been allowed to possess den retain de profits of dema labor, dema descendants might now control a much larger share of American social den monetary wealth. Not only did de freedmen not receive a share of these profits, but dem be stripped of de small amounts of compensation paid to sam of dem during Reconstruction. Therefore, many scholars den activists call give reparations to eliminate "racial disparities insyd wealth, income, education, health, sentencing den incarceration, political participation, den subsequent opportunities to engage insyd American political den social life".

### Health care
Insyd 2019, VICE magazine published an article dat argued racial health disparities, from slavery through Jim Crow until today, have cost Black Americans a significant amount of money insyd health care expenses den lost wages, den should be paid back. Ray den Perry state insyd a Brookings article dat de lack of a social safety net den de wealth gap are particularly highlighted during de COVID-19 pandemic. Dem explain dat “disparities insyd access to health care along plus inequities insyd economic policies combine,” making dis inequality a life anaa death situation give black Americans.

**<big>Current discrimination</big>**

Many argue dat giving reparations give slavery be too complicated, but der be a strong basis give dem on de past den current discrimination dat blacks insyd America face. Ta-Nehisi Coates dey explain am insyd "The Case for Reparations" article insyd The Atlantic as "ninety years of Jim Crow, sixty years of separate but equal, den thirty-five years of racist housing policy". De legacy of these policies have kept African Americans from opportunities to build wealth, while slavery "enriched white slave owners den dema descendants". Today, de district of North Lawndale insyd Chicago, wey redlining be de strongest, be de poorest neighborhood insyd de city, plus an unemployment rate of 18.6% den 42% of residents living below de poverty line.        

De discriminatory practices of 1940 through 1970 still reverberate today, as de average White family has roughly ten times de amount of wealth as de average Black family. As Bittker claims insyd ein book The Case for Black Reparations, "as slavery faded into de background, e be succeeded by a caste system embodying white supremacy". Many argue dat while reparations may be a first step towards amending de harms wey slavery cause am, de systemic racism dat exists insyd many institutions will not be fixed as easily. Malcolm X stated: "If you stick a knife insyd my back nine inches den pull am out six inches, der's no progress. If you pull am all de way out dat's not progress. Progress be healing de wound dat de blow made."

### Precedents
Advocates have used oda examples of reparations to argue dat victims of institutional slavery should be similarly compensated. 

Insyd several cases de federal government has formally apologized to anaa compensated minority groups give past actions:

* Under de Civil Liberties Act of 1988, wey President Ronald Reagan signed am into law, de U.S. government apologized give Japanese American internment during World War II den provided reparations of $20,000 to each survivor, to compensate give loss of property den liberty during dat period. No compensation was given to de descendants of affected individuals though.

* De Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act transferred land, federal money, den a portion of oil revenues to native Alaskans.

* De Apology Resolution of 1993 apologized give de overthrow of de Kingdom of Hawaii, sana gave no compensation.
U.S. state governments have made reparations insyd some specific circumstances:

* Virginia established a compensation fund give victims of involuntary sterilization insyd 2015.
Oda countries have sanso opted to pay reparations give past grievances, such as:

* Reparations give de Holocaust, wey dey include de Reparations Agreement between Israel den West Germany den various programs under de Conference for Jewish Material Claims Against Germany top. 

## Arguments against reparations

### Statute of limitations
Most state den federal laws under wey parties sabi sue give damages have a statute of limitations wey sets a deadline give filing; these have all long since passed, wey prevents courts from granting relief under existing laws. Dis has been used effectively insyd several suits, wey dey nclude *In re: African American Slave Descendants*, wey dismissed a high-profile suit against a number of businesses plus ties to slavery.

### Technical complications
De technical side of reparations be very complex, den could be a reason why dem have not yet been implemented. Sam argue against de idea of putting a monetary value on de traumas dat Black Americans have faced, dubbing am "transactionalism". On de oda hand, sam dismiss de case give reparations entirely due to practical concerns, wey include who would receive these financial payments, why should de current generation pay give wrongs give wey dem are not responsible, den how much should be paid.           

De estimates of de monetary value of stolen slave labor den subsequent discrimination vary “from an outrageously low $3.2 million to $4.7 billion,” den to as much as $12 trillion. Dis sanso dey raise de question of who be responsible give paying. Generally, three actors be agreed upon: federal den state governments, wey supported den protected de institution of slavery; private companies dat benefited from it; den “rich families dat owe a good portion of dema wealth to slavery”.           

Sam claim dat closing de wealth gap dey involve paying descendants of slaves “individual cash payments insyd de amount dat will close de Black-white racial wealth divide”. Another suggestion be give reparations to "come insyd de form of wealth-building opportunities dat address racial disparities insyd education, housing, den business ownership". For example, insyd de city of Asheville, North Carolina, reparations have been implemented insyd de form of "investments insyd areas wey Black residents face disparities". However, de complications dat surround dis be significant, den odas argue dat putting de money into communities be not efficient, due to people moving den gentrification.           

Insyd ein book, Bittker lays out sam of de practical den constitutional problems dat would likely arise insyd an attempt to execute a program of reparations to Blacks. Would it be de same payment to every person? Would dem have to prove ancestry to an African slave, anaa would it be any black person wey was subject to racism? There be no real answers to these questions, as dis be unprecedented case. Oda cases of reparations, wey include to de Jewish people wey survived de Holocaust anaa de Native Americans insyd de United States, be very different insyd de way dat it be much easier to identify de group wey should receive dem, den de reparations were paid more quickly dan insyd de case of reparations give slavery.          

### Additional arguments den opinions
Steven Greenhut, de western region director give de R Street Institute, has suggested dat reparations would make racism worse. 

Republican senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, wey be a descendant of slave owners, while dey acknowledge dat slavery was an "original sin" of de United States, opposes providing reparations because he believes "none of us currently living are responsible." 

One publication against reparations be David Horowitz, *Uncivil Wars: The Controversy Over Reparations for Slavery* (2002). Oda works dat discuss problems plus reparations dey include John Torpey's *Making Whole What Has Been Smashed: On Reparations Politics* (2006), Alfred Brophy's *Reparations Pro den Con* (2006), den Nahshon Perez's *Freedom from Past Injustices* (Edinburgh University Press, 2012). 

Reparations insyd de U.S. have never gained widespread public support. Often insyd these conversations, de White reaction is to claim dat dis be a form of unjustifiable "reverse racism", anaa dat demands give reparations be an example of de "Black refusal to move beyond de memory of slavery". A 2020 poll from De Washington Post showed dat "63% of Americans don't think de U.S. should pay reparations to de descendants of slaves". Notably, 82% of Black Americans support reparations, while 75% of White Americans do not. Sam arguments sanso highlight de complications behind reparations, such as "not all Black Americans are descendants of slaves" anaa dat de people alive today are not responsible give de harms of slavery. Odas still argue dat reparations will do nothing insyd de face of racism, den dat structural den policy changes would be more effective. Insyd de midst of America's racial unrest from 2020 to de present, these tensions were particularly exposed.[*original research?*]

## Reparations den COVID-19
De call give reparations has amplified due to de coronavirus pandemic, plus people of color disproportionately likely to be laid off, to struggle financially, den to die from de virus. For example, 40% of black-owned businesses have closed permanently since March due to de pandemic, compared to 17% of white-owned businesses during de same period. Dis relates back to de fact dat white families have roughly ten times de wealth of black families. Dis limits black-owned businesses' access to credit den loans, den dem do not have de safety net insyd times of crises dat many white-owned businesses do.[*citation needed*]     

In addition, African Americans continue to get infected den die from COVID-19 at rates more than 1.5 times dema share of de population. Insyd August 2020, de CDC released data wey dey show dat Blacks, Latinos, den American Indians are experiencing hospitalizations at rates 4.5 to 5.5 times higher dan non-Hispanic whites, den dat African Americans are dying at 2.4 times de white rate.    

## Legislation den oda actions

### Federal government
On July 30, 2008, de United States House of Representatives pass a resolution wey dey apologize for American slavery den subsequent discriminatory laws. Na de Senate apologize insyd 2009.

### States
#### Legislation
* **California** – Adopted legislation wey dey require insurance companies to determine whether dem have records going back to when slavery existed insyd dis country den, if so, to provide information for insurance policies top wey slaveholders held am on slaves to de state's insurance department. De California Reparations Task Force was established insyd 2020 as a non-regulatory state agency to study den develop reparation proposals.
* **Illinois** – Adopted legislation wey dey require insurance companies to determine whether dem have records going back to when slavery existed insyd dis country den, if so, to provide information for insurance policies top wey slaveholders held am on slaves to de state's insurance department.
* **Iowa** – Adopted legislation wey dey ask de insurance commissioner to request if insurance companies dem have records going back to when slavery existed insyd dis country den, if so, to provide information for insurance policies top wey slaveholders held am on slaves to de state's insurance department.
* **Maryland** – Adopted legislation wey dey require insurance companies to determine whether dem have records going back to when slavery existed insyd dis country den, if so, to provide information for insurance policies top wey slaveholders held am on slaves to de state's insurance department.
* **New York** – Insyd December of 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill wey dey set up a commission give de study of slavery's legacy. De commission will possibly make recommendations give monetary compensation anaa oda reparations give New York's Black residents under de effort. De Democrat-controlled state Legislature approved de measure insyd June.

#### Apologies
* **Alabama** – Apologized give ein involvement insyd de enslavement of Africans on April 25, 2007.
* **Connecticut** – Insyd 2009 apologized give ein involvement insyd de enslavement of Africans.
* **Delaware** – Apologized give ein involvement insyd de enslavement of Africans on February 11, 2016.
* **Florida** – Insyd 2008, apologized give ein involvement insyd de enslavement of Africans insyd America.
* **Maryland** – Insyd 2007, apologized give ein involvement insyd de enslavement of Africans insyd America.
* **New Jersey** – Insyd 2007, apologized give ein involvement insyd de enslavement of Africans insyd America.
* **North Carolina** – Insyd 2007, apologized give ein involvement insyd de enslavement of Africans insyd America.
* **Tennessee** – Insyd 2007, de Tennessee House of Representatives voted insyd unanimous support on a resolution wey dey state dat it "regrets" ein involvement insyd de enslavement of Africans. De House had specifically removed any "apology" language from de resolution.
* **Virginia** – Apologized give ein involvement insyd de enslavement of Africans on February 26, 2007.

### Counties

* **Buncombe County, North Carolina**: On June 16, 2020, insyd 7–0 vote, Buncombe County Commissioners decided to remove several Confederate monuments wey dey include de Vance Monument wey be named after North Carolina governor Zeb Vance, a slave owner wey used convict labor to build de railroad to Western North Carolina. Significant community involvement led to de decision. Leading up to de vote, de board received 549 supporting messages den 19 opposing.

### Cities
* **Chicago, Illinois:** "Insyd 2015, Chicago enacted a reparations ordinance wey dey cover hundreds of African Americans tortured by police from de 1970s to de 1990s. De law calls give $5.5 million insyd financial compensation, as well as hundreds of thousands more give a public memorial, den a range of assistance related to health, education den emotional well-being".
* **Evanston, Illinois:** "De City Council of Evanston, Illinois, voted to allocate de first $10 million insyd tax revenue from de sale of recreational marijuana (wey became legal insyd de state for January 1, 2020 top) to fund reparations initiatives dat address de gaps insyd wealth den opportunity of black residents".
* **Asheville, North Carolina:** De city council approved reparations on a 7–0 vote on July 14, 2020. "[B]udgetary den programmatic priorities may include sana not be limited to increasing minority home ownership den access to oda affordable housing, increasing minority business ownership den career opportunities, strategies to grow equity den generational wealth, closing de gaps insyd health care, education, employment den pay, neighborhood safety den fairness within criminal justice," de resolution reads. De resolution establishes de Community Reparations Commission wey will make concrete recommendations give programs den resources allocations to ultimately carry out de reparations. De Asheville City Council sanso voted unanimously on June 9, 2020, to remove two confederate monuments as a result of demands wey a group called "Black Asheville Demands" made am den de work of de Racial Justice Coalition plus led de push give de effort. De city council meeting had so much community engagement public comment was extended give an extra hour beyond de normal meeting time.
* **San Francisco, California:** Insyd March 2023, "reparation payments of $5 million to eligible Black residents wey San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors unanimously accepted am".

### Organizations den institutions

* **Aetna:** Apologized insyd 2000 give issuing life insurance policies to enslavers covering de lives of enslaved people from c. 1853 to 1860. Insyd 2002, when Farmer-Paellman brought suit against Aetna, CSX den Fleet give unjust enrichment by "a system dat enslaved, tortured, starved den exploited human beings," dis suit was dismissed.

* **University of Alabama:** Apologized give de history of slavery at de university insyd 2004.
* **Georgetown University:** "Insyd 2016 [de university agreed] to give admissions preference to descendants of de 272 slaves[,] formally apologized give ein role insyd slavery [den] [renamed] two buildings on ein campus to acknowledge de lives of enslaved people". Insyd April, 2019 students at Georgetown University voted to increase dema tuition by $27.20 to benefit de descendants of de 272 slaves wey de Jesuits wey ran de school insyd 1838 sold am. De student-led referendum was non-binding. Later dat year, after further pressure den follow up from de Georgetown University Student Association, de university eventually moved forward plus a similar proposal without de students' covering de cost plus a tuition increase.
* **Harvard University** started to research ein relationship to slavery insyd 2007. Insyd 2016, Harvard president Drew Faust acknowledged dat de university had been "directly complicit" insyd slavery. Insyd 2022 de university published *Harvard &* *de Legacy of Slavery*, more dan a hundred pages long. De report included recommendations to develop educational partnerships plus historically Black colleges den universities, create a public memorial, den identify living descendants of people enslaved by university staff, leaders den faculty. There was a US$100m endowment give implementation. De university has given descendants of slaves preferential consideration give admissions den set up a reconciliation fund give dem.
* **JP Morgan Chase**: Apologized give ein connection to slavery insyd 2005.
* **Princeton Theological Seminary**: Insyd 2019, de Seminary announced a $27 million commitment give various initiatives to recognize how it benefited from black slavery. Dis be de largest monetary commitment by an educational institution.
* **Virginia Theological Seminary:** Set aside $1.7 million to pay reparations to descendants of African Americans wey be enslaved to work on dema campus, first distributed insyd 2021.
* **Wachovia**: Apologized give ein connection to slavery insyd 2005.

## Sanso see

* American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS)
* American slave court cases
* Freedom suit – lawsuits brought by slaves to obtain freedom den reparations
* History of slavery insyd de United States
* History of slavery
* History of slavery insyd Asia
* History of slavery insyd de Muslim world
* Legal remedy
* Liberia
* Public apologies give slavery insyd de United States
* Reparations (website)
* Republic of New Afrika
* Slavery insyd contemporary Africa
* Slavery reparation scam

## References


## Read further

### 21st century

* 
* Brophy, Alfred L. *Reparations: Pro & Con*. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
* Brooks, Roy L. *Atonement and Forgiveness: A New Model for Black Reparations*. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004.
* 
* Darity, William Jr., A. Kirsten Mullen, and Marvin Slaughter. 2022. "The Cumulative Costs of Racism and the Bill for Black Reparations." *Journal of Economic Perspectives*, 36 (2): 99–122.
* 

* Dottin, Paul Anthony. "The end of race as we know it: Slavery, segregation, and the African American quest for redress." Ph.D. Thesis, Florida Atlantic University, 2002.
* Flaherty, Peter, and John Carlisle. *The Case against Slave Reparations*. Falls Church, Va: National Legal and Policy Center, 2004.
* Hakim, Ida. *The Debtors: Whites Respond to the Call for Black Reparations*. Red Oak, GA: Cure, 2005.
* Henry, Charles P. *Long Overdue: The Politics of Racial Reparations*. New York: New York University Press, 2007.
* 

* Martin, Michael T., and Marilyn Yaquinto. *Redress for Historical Injustices in the United States: On Reparations for Slavery, Jim Crow, and Their Legacies*. Durham: Duke University Press, 2007.
* Miller, Jon, and Rahul Kumar. *Reparations: Interdisciplinary Inquiries*. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2007. P
* 
* 
* Torpey, John. *Making Whole What Has Been Smashed: On Reparations Politics*. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2006.

* University of Kansas. *Symposium: Law, Reparations & Racial Disparities*. Lawrence: University of Kansas, Kansas Law Review, 2009.
* Walters, Ronald W. *African Americans and Movements for Reparations: Past, Present, and Future*. Dedicated to the Memory and Scholarly Legacy of Dr. Ronald W. Walters. Washington, DC: Association for the Study of African American Life and History, 2012.
* Winbush, Raymond A. *Should America Pay? Slavery and the Raging Debate on Reparations*. New York: Amistad/HarperCollins, 2003.

### 19th century

* 

## Video

* Gannon, James (October 25, 2018). *[https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/aljazeeracorrespondent/2018/10/moral-debt-legacy-slavery-usa-181017093941707.html A Moral Debt: The Legacy of Slavery in the USA]*. *Al-Jazeera*. Gannon is a descendant of Robert E. Lee

## External links

* Reparations for Slavery: a Reader – a collection of essays on the topic of reparations for slavery.
* Reparations, R.I.P., ''City Journal,'' Autumn 2008
* Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act Archived October 22, 2008, at the Wayback Machine– A bill introduced by Congressman John Conyers, Jr. every year since 1989, which has not yet passed.
* Making Amends Debate Continues Over Reparations for U.S. Slavery – NPR, August 27, 2001.
* Banished site for Independent Lens on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
*