A Case for Reparations

policy

A course or principle of action adopted or proposed by a government, party, business, or individual.

Juneteenth

A federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of African-American slaves. It is also often observed for celebrating African-American culture. Originating in Galveston, Texas, it has been celebrated annually on June 19 in various parts of the United States since 1865.

disparity/disparities

A great difference

Hurricane Katrina

A large and destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas.

The New Deal

A series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939.

structural racism

Also known as systemic racism, a form of racism that is embedded in the laws and regulations of a society or an organization. It manifests as discrimination in areas such as criminal justice, employment, housing, health care, education, and political representation.

mortgage

An agreement between you and a lender that allows you to borrow money to purchase or refinance a home and gives the lender the right to take your property if you fail to repay the money you've borrowed.

Freedmen's Bureau

An important agency of early Reconstruction, assisting freedmen in the South.

housing crisis

Anywhere affordable housing becomes extremely scarce.

reparations

Broadly understood as compensation given for abuse or injury. The colloquial meaning of reparations has changed substantially over the last century.

descendants

In legal usage, a blood relative in the direct line of descent—the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc. of a person.

40 Acres and a Mule

Part of Special Field Orders No. 15, a wartime order proclaimed by Union General William T. Sherman on January 16, 1865, during the American Civil War, to allot land to some freed families, in plots of land no larger than 40 acres.

equity

Relates to racial and social justice; means meeting communities where they are and allocating resources and opportunities as needed to create equal outcomes for all community members.

policymakers

Someone who creates ideas and plans, especially those carried out by a business or government.

Jim Crow

State and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States.

segregation

Systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life.

wealth

The abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions.

discrimination

The act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated against on the basis of race, gender, age, religion, or sexual orientation, as well as other categories.

anti-Black policies

The covert structural and systemic racism which predetermines the socioeconomic status of Black people in this country and is held in place by anti-Black policies, institutions, and ideologies.

American Dream

The ideal by which equality of opportunity is available to any American, allowing the highest aspirations and goals to be achieved.

economy

The large set of interrelated production and consumption activities that aid in determining how scarce resources are allocated.

restitutions

The law of gains-based recovery, in which a court orders the defendant to give up his gains to the claimant.

legislation

The preparation and enactment of laws by a legislative body through its lawmaking process.

mass incarceration

The primary form of punishment and rehabilitation for the commission of felony and other offenses. The United States has the largest prison population in the world and the highest per-capita incarceration rate.

gentrification

The process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning.

slavery

The state and the condition of being a slave, who is someone forbidden to quit their service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as their property.

wealth gap

The unequal distribution of assets among residents of the United States.

Field Order 15

This Civil War military order confiscated as Federal property a strip of coastal land extending about 30 miles inland from the Atlantic and stretching from Charleston, South Carolina 245 miles south to Jacksonville, Florida.