Slavery Reparations: Should They be Paid… and How Would It Work (2702)

Join Dennis McCuistion and Jim Falk to talk about a hotly contested topic, slavery reparations. Joining them are:

Donna Jackson
with the National Center for Public Policy Research, Project 21, an opponent of reparations and 

William A, Darity, Jr; PhD
Samuel DuBois Cook Distinguished scholar, Duke University, and co-author of From Here to Equality, Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century, who believes reparations are needed and necessary.

Reparations have been part of the national discussion on structural racial inequality since the end of the Civil War According to a Reuters Poll, released In June of 2020. One in five respondents said the U.S. should use “taxpayer money to pay damages to descendants of enslaved people in the United States.”

The results were sharply divided along partisan lines, with 80 percent of Republicans saying they’re opposed to reparations while about a third of Democrats said they are supportive.

Slavery reparations have been hotly debated for decades; however, the argument has gained momentum in the last ten years. Many claim that H.R.40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans Act, has not been as extensive and effective as it needs to be.

Dr. Darity cites income inequality between blacks and whites as a reason for reparations.

The racial wealth gap is large and shows no signs of closing. Recent data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (2014) shows that black households hold less than seven cents on the dollar compared to white households.1 The white household living near the poverty line typically has about $18,000 in wealth, while black households in similar economic straits typically have a median wealth near zero. This means, in turn, that many black families have a negative net worth. (Hamilton et al. 2015).

Tune in to learn more about this controversial issue.

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