Reparations

Latin reparare — to restore, repair. Applied to international law after WWI when Germany was required to pay reparations for war damages — a requirement widely blamed for contributing to economic instability and the rise of Nazism. After WWII, Germany paid reparations to Israel and Jewish survivors.

The case for reparations for American slavery and Jim Crow rests on documented economic harm — estimates of wealth extracted from enslaved labor and subsequent discrimination. The political debate turns on questions of lineage (who pays, who receives), practicality, and whether financial compensation can address non-financial harm. H.R. 40 — a bill establishing a commission to study reparations — has been introduced in Congress every year since 1989 without passing. Several cities and universities have established their own reparations programs.