The Importance of Reparations

Let's talk about reparations!

I want to take a moment to share what I have learned, and what I do, with folks on LinkedIn specifically because wealthy people, and more specifically, white wealthy people, have an opportunity to integrate reparations into their daily life while broader solutions are being designed and implemented.?

What are Reparations?

As Dolly Chugh writes about in her latest book,? “A More Just Future”, “Reparations can take many forms, from direct payments to enhanced opportunities.”?

Reparations are designed to make amends for wrongdoing, either through monetary payments (inclusive of inflation and an increase in value) or otherwise helping those who have been wronged.?

Why Reparations are Important

Reparations are important because they are an action that communities can take in an effort to create equity. You may be familiar with the Equal Opportunity YouTube video that shows how systematic marginalization, resulting from past and present harm, can create unfair disadvantages for some groups while simultaneously creating unfair advantages for others.

Reparations are one tool at our disposal that can provide opportunities to get folks to the same starting line.?

How I Practice Reparations

As I continue to learn, and unlearn, it is important to me that the changes I make in my life and behavior are sustainable. Below, you will find three ways I have been able to sustain reparations in my life (for over a year, each), which I believe are also accessible for others to consider:

• I participate in my neighborhood's Mutual Aid group on our intake team - responding to calls and texts from my neighbors and working to match them with the support they are seeking (at least one hour per week, unless I am out of town)
• On a monthly basis, I donate at least $200 to the grocery fund through my neighborhood’s Mutual Aid Group (Clinton Hill Fort Greene Mutual Aid)?
• On an ad hoc basis, I respond to individuals who are seeking support through Mutual Aid Groups or other community-driven organizations and send funds digitally
• Since November 2021, my business, Shelby Taylor Duncan Consulting, has supported five BIPOC-owned businesses with strategy consulting and support services, at no cost to the owners

How You Can Contribute?

If you are not a member of a historically marginalized group and/or are a wealthy person, you have an opportunity to offer reparations in your day to day life. This can look like:

• Providing funds directly to individuals requesting support (without asking why they need it and without requiring them to “prove” the funds were used as requested)
• Participating in your mutual aid group and sharing your time and resources to support your community?
• Paying for others to access opportunities (tutoring, direct college scholarships (i.e., pay tuition), work opportunities through professional networks, LinkedIn Premium account, certifications, etc.)
• Offering your support and network (ensure the spaces you offer to share are inclusive - you may need to work to make this happen!)

In addition, you may have access to business and/or corporate spaces that exclude historically marginalized groups through policies and practices. If you are in a position of power or influence, you may consider the following:

• For professional associations - waive fees for folks who are from historically marginalized backgrounds
• Share your network?
• Offer to pay the test fee for someone seeking a professional certification or in need of keeping a professional certification. To make this more sustainable, ensure your association/chapter has a “scholarship fund” that folks can tap into (lottery is suggested for equity)

Curious and want to learn more?

Conversations about reparations aren’t new, these are a few articles that can help you to get started and learn more about reparations. Audley Moore, known as “Queen Mother” was an ardent activist who advocated for reparations over her 70 years of activism, which began in the 1920s. More recently, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ 2014 Atlantic Article titled, “The Case for Reparations” garnered attention and drove conversation as did Nikole Hannah-Jones’ 2020 “What is Owed” New York Times Magazine story.