Reparations and You
SOME ASK: "What, exactly, are reparations?"
According to the United Nations, reparations are actions that attempt to right the wrongs of systemic, state-sanctioned human rights violations like genocide, chattel slavery, and displacement.
THE UNITED NATIONS OUTLINES FIVE CONDITIONS THAT MUST BE MET FOR FULL REPARATIONS:
1) Acknowledgement of harm, including official apologies, public education, and memorials
2) Compensation for injury and harm, and for lost land, labor, property, relationships, culture, and spirituality
3) Restitution, including restoration of victims’ rights, property, and citizenship status
4) Rehabilitation, including psychological and physical support
5) Cessation and guarantees of non-repetition, including reforming or eliminating laws and civil and political structures that led to or fueled the harm, including those that continue to do so.
SOME ASK: "How does that apply to the USA?"
The United States has consistently, and lawfully, engaged in human rights violations and profound violence - from enslavement to genocide and displacement of the Indigenous people, to lynchings, to housing and education inequities -- even before gaining nationhood.
Do you remember the phrase: "40 acres and a mule"? It was a promise made to formerly enslaved people, towards the close of the Civil War. Some got the land and mule, only to have them taken away as soon as white southerners saw the Union army retreat. Most never got them.
The revocation of that promise set a precedent to deny Black Americans dignity, safety, security and opportunity. Through many generations, in every sector life, racist systems have maintained a deep divide between descendants of enslaved people and white people. Lynching, redlining, gerrymandering, segregation, and police violence are only a few of the ways African Americans have, and continue to be, harmed.
Reparations are owed to Indigenous people and Black Americans. Many people are unaware that Indigenous people were enslaved before Africans. In 2008 and 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate respectively made formal apologies to African Americans community for “centuries of brutal dehumanization and injustices," including an admission that “African Americans continue to suffer from the complex interplay between slavery and Jim Crow long after both systems were formally abolished.” After an effort that began in 1989, history was made in the US Congress when the House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee voted on April 14, 2021, to move H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans, to the House floor for full consideration.
Since then, H.R. 40 has stalled in committee. The Reparations Collective is unwilling to wait for national reparations policies to be enacted. We see the need for reparations now, in many forms, for myriad past and continued harms.
SOME MAY ASK: "What do reparations look like?"
Reparations can take many forms, both monetary and non-monetary. To learn more about different types of reparations, we recommend reading this NPR article. For many Indigenous communities, the priority is access to land in a movement called "Land Back." For the purposes of this effort, we focus on individual monetary reparations.
YOU MAY WONDER: “How much should I pay in reparations?”
Individual reparation payments are typically an amount of money set aside each year/month/week, in acknowledgement of one’s relative prosperity, due to ethnicity and skin color. Each person decides the amount of money they feel is fair to contribute towards reparations.
This is entirely up to the individual. However, many of us have used statistics to help us. For example, you could use the fact that the median white household is 10X more than its Black counterpart to guide your reparation payment. E.g: If you make $80,000 a year, you could consider paying 10% of that income annually towards reparations ($8,000.) Does that seem like a lot? It is! That’s exactly why the economic disparity is so troublesome in our country.
Only you can decide how much you can pay towards reparations. If you can swing 10% or more, give it a try! If not, the chart below suggests a much more modest payment schedule.
Net Annual Suggested Monthly Reparations
Household Income Payment
$0 - $18,000 $5+
$18,001 - $23,000 $15+
$23,001 - $32,000 $25+
$32,001 - $40,000 $75+
$40,001 - $50,000 $200+
$50,001 - $70,000 $400+
$70,001 - $100k $550+
$100k + $850+
(In calculating your income, add all monies--both earned and unearned.)
Pay more on the scale if you:
Have few or no dependents
Have a college degree
Have retirement savings, investments, inherited money, unearned income
Can ask people in your life for money on an emergency basis or otherwise
Own the home you live in
Choose to work less than you can and have higher earning power than you are currently tapping into
BIG THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING RESOURCES FOR THEIR GUIDANCE:
Suggested Monthly Payment comes from Ride Free Fearless Money
Sliding scale factors here are partially derived from Little Red Bird Botanicals
SOME MAY ASK: “Why make payments to the CRF rather than to individual groups?”
Reparations payments made to the CRF can reduce the communication and administrative load for Black and Indigenous grassroots organizations, which are often run by volunteers and/or part-time staff.
Reparations payments made to the CRF enable groups to receive larger amounts of payments, in a more consistent way. This can help with budgeting and planning.
As mentioned before, by combining resources together, everyone can participate--no matter what one’s income level is—and thus leverage more repair than if one attempted a reparative action alone.
SOME MAY ASK: “Will my contribution be tax deductible?”
The Reparations Collective is not currently able to offer tax deductibility for reparation payments. If this is needed, you can contribute directly to the two organizations we have named. Both Crossing the Waters Institute for Cultural Exchange and the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuc band are non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations.
SOME MAY ASK: “Will my full contribution go to reparations?”
Please note that a portion of monies collected in the CRF is paid annually directly to our Black and Indigenous Accountability Partners for their labor with the Collective, plus administrative costs like outreach materials and maintaining our PO Box. 💖
SOME MAY SAY: “I'm on board! How do I participate?"
If participating in this effort pleases your heart and mind, please feel free to set up payments through Paypal or send a check directly to the CRF (see details below.) If we have sufficient contributions, we hope to move accumulated monies twice in 2024 from the Collective Reparations Fund to the two selected organizations.
In 2024, the Reparations Collective is in relationship with two groups---Crossing the Waters Institute for Cultural Exchange and the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuc Band. The Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuc Band is seeking to restore cultural traditions & to preserve historical tribal records. Crossing the Waters Institute for Cultural Exchange (CTW) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that offers opportunities for cultural connections between the United States and Africa. Both are Massachusetts-based and will receive reparation payments in 2024.
Please send checks to:
Collective Reparations, PO Box 81, Shelburne Falls, MA 01370.
Include your name & email address with your payment so that we can let you know when we make our collective reparation payments.
Have questions? Want to know more or join our email list? Please contact us at: thereparationscollective@gmail.com