Description
My research seeks to address reparations through the prism of the contemporary manifestations of the legacies of slavery and legal segregation in America. The goal is to articulate a way to achieve some form of reparations that will feed into the larger goal of decolonisation and the fight against anti-Blackness. I draw on the past to help shine light on present consequences of that past that I argue tend to be overlooked when discussing reparations and can’t always be solved through monetary payments as many have suggested (Craemer et al 2020). I intend to focus on socio-economic factors such as the growing phenomena of gentrification and over/under policing of Black bodies in specific areas of the U.S. My entry point into the debate on reparations in America intends to be what is now known as H.R 40 (Lee 2023). The bill seeks to establish an official commission whose sole task will be to study and develop reparations for Black Americans. The bill however mainly focuses on reparations for slavery and “discrimination” and seems to define reparations as “a formal apology and compensation.” (Lee 2023). While I agree with that approach, my research will seek to focus on current harms and offer a different approach to reparations.
