VRLC Reads: Reparations

VRLC Reads: Reparations

VRLC Reads was first established at VRLC in 2020 with the aim to hold space for discussions on various social issues through an anti-racist framework. Informational resources are sent out to foster a more robust conversation. We invite you to follow along with us as we learn, reflect, engage, and grow in anti-racist, anti-oppressive thinking. How we move through the world matters.

For a full list of all VRLC Reads posts, click here.

Following our Anti-Racist Book Club meeting with VRLC staff celebrating Black History Month, we chose to discuss reparations. The impact of reparations work is incredibly widespread. It can be hard to face the past and present reality of this country and where we stand in that, but it is absolutely a worthwhile endeavor. We hope our VRLC Reads series sparks your curiosity and pushes you to explore these topics further whether it be individually, with family, with friends, or in community. Below are the resources sent out to staff.

Main Readings (3)
  • Resurrecting the Promise of 40 Acres: The Imperative of Reparations for Black Americans (Nonprofit Quarterly), 20-min read
    This article is an excerpt from Resurrecting the Promise of 40 Acres: The Imperative of Reparations for Black Americans and discusses the need for reparations, the scale of what national reparations would look like, and the different approaches to calculating what is owed to Black Americans.
  • Reparations Now Toolkit, pages 51-58 (Movement for Black Lives) 15-min read
    The Reparations Now Toolkit was written by the organization Movement for Black Lives in 2019 and is originally 118 pages long. We’ve chosen to focus on just 7 pages which discuss the history of reparations internationally and in the United States.
  • How White and Non-Black People Can Pay Reparations (Business Insider) 5-min read
    This article suggests ways in which we can develop personal and financial practices of reparations, regardless of legislature. The article touches on mutual aid, individual donations, community care and uplifting Black voices.
Supplemental Readings (3)
  • Reparations: Let’s Talk About It (KGET News), 21-min watch
    A video on the importance of reparations, specifically in the state of California. Californian Reparations Task Force members, community organizers, and local leaders are interviewed to discuss the impact reparations legislation could have on residents.
  • National African American Reparations Commission: Preliminary Reparations Program (NAARC), 20-min read
    NAARC’s 10-Point Reparations Program is a document that serves as a guide for Reparations for people of African descent in the U.S. In short, they call for a formal apology,  the right of repatriation, the right to land, funds, resources for health & wellness, education, affordable housing, stronger communications infrastructure, preservation of sacred sites, and a repair of the criminal justice system.
  • Reparations Research Guide: California Reparations Legislation in 2024 (University of San Diego Legal Research Center), 3-min read
    If you are interested in seeing reparations in legal action, California legislators announced on 1/31/24 fourteen separate bills designed to implement the recommendations of the CA Reparations Task Force. The box titled “California Reparations Legislation in 2024” on this USD research guide summarizes these 14 bills.
Additional Resources (2)
  • Reparations Research Guide: California Reparations Legislation in 2024 (University of San Diego Legal Research Center), 3-min read
    If you are interested in seeing reparations in legal action, California legislators announced on 1/31/24 fourteen separate bills designed to implement the recommendations of the CA Reparations Task Force. The box titled “California Reparations Legislation in 2024” on this USD research guide summarizes these 14 bills.
  • The Blackest Book Club Book List (Reconstruction)
    Reconstruction is a “provider of holistic, supplemental, culturally-relevant curriculum, centered on the Black experience”. They partnered with the podcast Pod Save the People to create The Blackest Book Club, a curated reading list of Black authors to honor Black History Month. If you are interested in browsing the book list, you can click the link and sign up to receive the list via email!

The impact of reparations work is incredibly widespread. It can be hard to face the past and present reality of this country and where we stand in that, but it is absolutely a worthwhile endeavor. We hope our VRLC Reads series sparks your curiosity and pushes you to explore these topics further whether it be individually, with family, with friends, or in community. If you have the time and/or interest to dive deeper, you can access these additional long-form resources:

  1. The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Listen for free: Soundcloud), 1hr 28-min listen
  2. The Cost of Inheritance (PBS), 55-min watch
  3. Let’s Talk About Reparations by Nkechi TaifA (Columbia University), 33 pages

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