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Reparations

Overview

One remedy to right past and current wrongs is reparations - providing money to people to compensate for lost property, wages and opportunities for wealth accumulation among their ancestors or families, as a result of actions of their government. For example, the German government paid reparations to its own citizens and citizens of other countries in the 1960's, for actions taken by the German government in World War II. The United States government paid very minimal reparations ($20,000) to American citizens of Japanese ancestry for internment during World War II. Even lower amounts were paid in reparations ($5,000) to ethnic Japanese taken from their homes in 13 Latin American countries by the United States military to camps in Louisiana, Texas and elsewhere. Resources in this section discuss reparations and how they might be applied to remedy the consequences of enslavement and the subsequent disadvantages that have accumulated over time to people of color as a result of U.S. government policies.

Key sites

Resources

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Glossary

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