**UPDATED REVIEW**

Disclaimer: I'm white, which I'm sure will impact every aspect of this review.

It took me a while to read through this book, as I had to sit with almost every essay individually. A few of them are pretty basic "here's why reparations are necessary," and rely on historical facts that I was already at least somewhat familiar with. Many, however, are far more detailed, and break down what reparations would look like in practice.

I've been generally in favor of reparations prior to reading this book, but I wasn't entirely clear what they would look like in practice. As we see more communities and institutions engaging with this question, such as the recent-to-the-time-of-this-writing decision in Palm Springs, CA, it's started to become clearer.

Some of the essays in this book examine prior attempts at establishing a system of reparations, whether or not those efforts met any success, and use those as a model for the future. Others examine certain issues in detail (for example, the role of universities, both historically and in the present) and explain why reparations are called for and what they would look like in practice.

From conversations I've had, and even several examples in this book, I get the impression that many people who are only vaguely familiar with the concept of reparations, assume that the goal is to throw money at a problem. The wealth gap is certainly a large part of the issue, but as many of these essays state, true reparations will involve massive alterations to the systems in place that continue to profit from historical (and present) wrongdoing.

I will say: the writing in this book was highly academic, and there were times when I could feel my eyes glazing over and had to set it aside for a bit to come back fresh. The biggest thing this book has to offer, IMO, is the imagination necessary to envision what change would look like. Whether or not any single essay captures the desired outcome of an inquiry like HR40 (a bill that asks for the mere STUDY of whether reparations are something we should be addressing as a nation) is besides the point. Since each essay has a slightly different focus, they all ask for redress in slightly different forms. Any final system of reparations would have to synthesize all of these concerns into a single document, but the ability to imagine how centuries of disenfranchisement and unfulfilled promises could be addressed is HUGE. I'd argue that this book is a form of academic Afrofuturism, and I personally found it illuminating.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this as an ARC. I'm sorry it took me so long to get there, but I wanted to read with the care and consideration that went into its contents.

LEaves many questions unanswered, simply another book to rile up African Americans and stir the discord in America.

Changes at the global, federal, state, and municipal level are pushing forward the reparations movement for people of African descent. The distinguished editors of this volume have gathered works that chronicle the historical movement for reparations both in the United States and around the world.
Sharing a focus on reparations as an issue of justice, the contributors provide a historical primer of the movement; introduce the philosophical, political, economic, legal and ethical issues surrounding reparations; explain why government, corporations, universities, and other institutions must take steps to rehabilitate, compensate, and commemorate African Americans; call for the restoration of Black people’s human and civil rights and material and psychological well-being; lay out specific ideas about how reparations can and should be paid; and advance cutting-edge interpretations of the complex long-lasting effects that enslavement, police and vigilante actions, economic discrimination, and other behaviors have had on people of African descent.


Groundbreaking and innovative, Reparations and Reparatory Justice offers a multifaceted resource to anyone wishing to explore a defining moral issue of our time.


Very informative read. It lays out everything in an easy to understand manner. Will recommend to others.

Thank you to #netgalley for providing the e-arc. This book was published on April 9th, 2024.

While this book had good information on:

how racism absolutely did NOT end even though "legalized slavery" ended (and on that note: slavery never really ended either, it just took on different forms)
how institutions like banks and universities benefited from slavery and they, along with megarichs, should be the first to foot the cost of reparations, contrary to opponents of reparation claiming that it would be yet another taxpayer burden (like we actual taxpayers got a say in where our taxes go? I WANT my taxes to go towards free school lunches not fucking bombs)
the history of African Americans fighting for their rights and deserved payments + how the US government tried their absolute hardest to weasel out of their obligations
discussions and suggestions of infrastructures that reparations can fund


it wasn't exactly an engaging book and reading it was an frustrating experience. Part of it was due to how technical the language is, though this is not a point of criticism, just something I'd like to point out to new readers.

The book is separated to two parts: part I consists of speeches and documents and part II consists of articles and essays. Part I can be a bit dry due to the nature of those text, but I was also annoyed by the amount of whole lot of nothing languages like thanking the United Nations and the US American president for the progresses made and what an honour it was to have them here and whatever. Those can be easily edited out and nothing of essence would've been lost. Part II was definitely more interesting to read.

I also think part I could benefit from moving Chapter 9 and 10 to the front as those could be good for readers unfamiliar with reparation to go through first (it's me, I'm readers).

Have I mentioned how editing could make this book better? WHY are ISRAEL and REPARATION JUSTICE/SUCCESS mentioned in the same paragraph? TWICE? IN THIS CURRENT CLIMATE? I am not pretending to be a very informed person, since I myself am not educated until after October 2023. But IN TWENTY TWENTY FOUR? I am going to hope that this text is ARC only and the published version does NOT normalize the so-called state of Israel.

Some ableist words have also been used in this book - namely the r-word (as a verb) and "crippling". Yes I know the r-word has other meanings but at this point let's just not. There are other words one can use to mean "going backwards" or "preventing progress". And instead of "crippling", might I suggest "devastating", "undermining", "undercutting", or "defunding"?

**⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | A Landmark Work on the Urgency of Reparations**

*Reparations and Reparatory Justice: Past, Present, and Future* by Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua, Mary Frances Berry, and V. P. Franklin is a groundbreaking and comprehensive exploration of the long-standing fight for reparations. The authors meticulously trace the history of reparatory justice, providing a deep understanding of its roots and the ongoing struggles for recognition and restitution. Their analysis is both scholarly and accessible, offering powerful arguments for why reparations are essential for addressing historical injustices and shaping a more equitable future. This book is a must-read for anyone committed to understanding and advancing social justice, making it a seminal contribution to the conversation on reparations.

The insight on how the justice system as we now know it was never built for the fair treatment of black and POC is very affirming. It’s one thing to know something to be true and something completely else to have facts to prove it. I think everyone should read this book to gain clarity on what really happening and what has been happening to the minorities in this country.

This is an important collection of voices explaining why reparations are needed, but also how they could work in practice.
It is easily understandable and accessible, and is an excellent grounding in reparatory justice.