Rethinking the issue of reparations for Black Americans

The differential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities of color in the United States along with the civil unrest taking place in 2020 in response to the killing of unarmed Black men and women by the police have increased awareness of the structural racism pervading US society. These developments have reraised the issue of reparations for Black Americans, usually proposed in the context of providing financial compensation for the injustices of slavery to the descendants of those who were enslaved. This paper will discuss the systematic racial inequality and structural racism in US society that have significantly disadvantaged racial and ethnic minorities while giving advantages to white Americans, which most recently have resulted in significantly higher mortality and morbidity among Black, Hispanic, and Native Americans during the pandemic. The paper will conceptualize reparations within the context of theories of reparative justice. It will also consider whether reparations are owed, and if so, by whom, to whom, and in what form. The final section will offer a proposal for collective reparations to the Black community and other people of color.