Heath clarified reparations “is not ordinary public policy,” nor are reparations efforts “synonymous with racial equity” initiatives such as those promoted by the current administration. “If policy was enough,” she questioned, “why do we have the largest racial wealth gap since the 1960s” when landmark civil rights legislation was passed?

Instead, she argued, the country needs to continue to pursue equity policies while also actively examining and repairing the harm that has been and continues to be inflicted by past and present policies of racial violence, oppression and discrimination. While such efforts to repair damage should happen at the local and institutional level as well as larger national efforts, Heath expressed some skepticism at current efforts by private institutions such as churches and universities to implement their own reparations policies.

“It’s encouraging that we’re seeing all of these institutions take steps” toward redressing their past wrongs, Heath conceded, before pointing out that many of these efforts are being dictated by the very institutions that profited from slavery and oppression rather than being driven by those who have been harmed by these institutions and their practices. “Only survivors and descendants of atrocities and crimes should be dictating what the repair is,” Heath declares as her standard for authentic reparations. “The perpetrators don’t get to dictate to the people what their reparations are.”

Finally, Heath explained that reparations should not only be defined in terms of “financial compensation” but should additionally include various types of systemic change that focus on physical and psychological harms. Such policies, she argued, range from reallocating land to Black farmers and returning personal artifacts to Black families to truth-telling processes and renewed education about our country’s past. “We’re not just talking about one element or another because we need it all,” Heath explained. “The whole entire menu is what needs to be ordered.”

The Case for Reparations

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week