Repair

Bottom line up front (BLUF): bad news does not get better with time.

The longer we delay in restoring justice to the descendants of Black Africans impacted by the transatlantic slave trade and chattel slavery, the deeper our collective wounds grow.

As I write this (October 2024), the United Kingdom has concluded its participation in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa. Reparations were not originally on the summit agenda but were addressed due to strong advocacy from Caribbean Commonwealth nations.

King Charles III stated, “None of us can change the past but we can commit with all our hearts to learning its lessons and to finding creative ways to right the inequalities that endure.” Prime minister Keir Starmer remarked that he wanted to focus on “looking forward, not back.”

This highlights a troubling pattern in Western discourse on reparations: a persistent hypocrisy. Here are some common objections—and historical precedents that challenge them.

The Innocence Objection:

Why should an innocent person or group who did nothing wrong pay for the crimes of others?

Collective responsibility isn’t new. Ancient texts tell the story of Achan who kept forbidden items from the fallen city of Jericho (Joshua 7, NKJV). It shows that entire communities sometimes shared consequences for individual actions.

?Historically, we see collective responsibility through:

• Japanese American Internment and the Civil Liberties Act of 1988
• U.K. ?Abolition of the Slave Trade (1807) and Slavery Abolition Act (1833)
• The Troubles and the Good Friday Agreement (1998)
• U.K. Post Office Horizon scandal (2024)

Of note - the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 issued reparations to surviving Japanese Americans incarcerated during WWII. President Reagan made a formal apology and Congress provided $38 million in reparations in 1948 and forty years later paid an additional $20,000 to each surviving individual who had been detained in the camps.

The Unharmed Objection

Why compensate a person or group who did not actually suffer and were not directly injured by the crime?

Egypt’s restitution to the Israelites included both former slaves and their children (Exodus 12:35-36). Although some Egyptians didn’t directly harm the Israelites, and many Israelites were too young to recall their suffering, they were all recipients.

Modern parallels include:

• Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (1971)
• Caribbean Slave Compensation (1833)
• Cyprus Independence Settlement (1960)
• Mau Mau Uprising Reparations (2013)
• Windrush Compensation Scheme (2019)
• Northern Ireland Troubles Victims’ Payments Regulations (2020)

Of note - British slaveowners, not slaves, received reparations. Following the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act, ￡100 billion (adjusted) was paid to compensate former slaveowners for their “lost property,” a debt the U.K. completed in 2015. Taxpayer funds, rather than prayers or gestures, supported those reparations, exposing the inconsistency in denying similar compensation to descendants of enslaved Africans.

The Generational Tax Objection

Why should today’s citizens be taxed in order to pay for atrocities committed by in the past?

Consider the Israelites who returned from exile in Babylon and took on the responsibility of rebuilding the temple and restoring Jerusalem, (Ezra-Nehemiah, NKJV). Many of them had not been alive during the original destruction. In this case, the returning generation bears the burden of rectifying the wrongs that led to the exile, sacrificing time, resources, and effort to atone for intergenerational harm.

Contemporary examples:

• Agent Orange Settlement Fund (U.S., 1984)
• James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act (U.S., 2010)
• Cobell v. Salazar settlement (U.S., 2012)
• Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (U.S., 2022)
• British Coal Health Compensation Schemes (1998)
• Compensation for British Nuclear Test Veterans (2015)

Of note – The Cobell v. Salazar settlement reflects an effort to address historical wrongs that affected multiple generations of Native Americans. The settlement provided $3.4 billion in reparations, funded by taxpayers, aimed at benefiting multiple generations including Direct payments, the Trust Land Consolidation Fund, and Education Scholarships.

Repairers of Streets to Dwell

Reparations only become problematic when it involves wealth transfers to Africa and the descendants of enslaved black Africans. Yet, avoiding this responsibility only prolongs inequality and societal division.

Why pursue reparations?

·?????? Economic Parity: Closing the racial wealth gap offers a foundation for sustainable growth, fostering prosperity across communities.

·?????? Healing Through Truth: Just as glasnost opened dialogue in Russia, a commitment to truth and transparency can pave the way for genuine repair.

·?????? Cultural Unity: Embracing collective accountability strengthens communities, making nations more resilient and equitable.

Imagine:

• What if we told the full truth about our histories, no matter how uncomfortable?
• How could your family, community, or workplace lead the way in addressing historical harms?
• What steps can we take to ensure a future built on fairness and collective accountability?

Reparations and repair aren’t abstract principles but pathways to shared prosperity and justice. Now is the time for Western nations to explore meaningful, actionable steps. The cost of delay is simply too high.