Reparative Justice
Note: Most of what is bold/italic has a link you can click.
“Reparative Justice” is the phrase of the week. On Wednesday, Feb. 17, a House Judiciary Subcommittee hosted a hearing to discuss “H.R. 40: Exploring the Path to Reparative Justice in America.”
You wouldn’t know it by the title, but the hearing was about reparations for Black people. “H.R. 40” is the most obvious clue. H.R. 40 is a house resolution named for “40 acres and a mule.” For three decades, the resolution has been before Congress and ignored by Congress.
Reparative Justice isn’t a new term. But it is colorblind, and it is legal. Perhaps it sounds better, more soothing, and more purposeful than “Antiracist Justice.” I wonder why the House isn’t using the term antiracist in its language.
In June 2019, Democrats called the hearing “H.R. 40 and the Path to Restorative Justice.” It’s now reparative justice. Reparative Justice assumes injury, and it clarifies that justice repairs the harm. But I’m not sure there’s clarity and accuracy about the harm.
I suggest whiteness is the harm. Reparations ought to be for whiteness with the ultimate aim to undo white identity. Whiteness is the disease; everything else is a symptom. The case for reparations is against white identity. Either way, reparations will have to go through white identity. I suggest we deal with it directly.
Previously, I’ve written for paying subscribers that reparations must end two things: white dominance and economic exploitation. Today, for paying subscribers, I’m sharing a short sketch of my thoughts on reparations for whiteness.
As I look at the global efforts to collect data, tell the truth, and repair racist harms in settler-colonial societies, none of them seem to work well. I wonder why? What if ending the political power in white identity was the focus? What if settler societies said, “We’re going to look at what makes people white, and we are going to undo it all.”
Any effort to undo white identity sounds personal until you realize, as Ta-Nehisi Coates says, that race is not who we are but what was done to us. The call to abolish white identity can sound punitive until you realize, as Nell Irvin Painter says, that white identity is an ideology and not biology.
The United States has a hard time dealing with white ideologies. And as the House hearing proves, none of this will be easy. Logic and facts do not matter to the GOP; Democrats are great at not doing enough, and then we have the states.
The hearing was 3-hours long, and it’s online at the House Judiciary website to view, with copies of the witness testimony. I also recommend looking at the comments under the video on YouTube.
I watched the hearing twice and took notes. My notes include the Q&A, which the House Judiciary website does not provide. I’m sharing my comments and notes with everyone.
Be sure to scroll down⬇ for news and headlines related to race, racism, and antiracism in 14 topics from reparations, parenting, education, sports, and the world. For paying subscribers, if you prefer to listen to the headlines below, read by me, click here.
📰 News and Headlines
🚦FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL REPARATIONS
Federal: “Reparations bill tests Biden and Harris on racial justice” Biden has not said he will sign the HR40 legislation. On Wednesday, February 17, Eugene Daniels asked Jen Psaki if Biden would sign the bill, and Psaki did not say he would. Daniels also asked Psaki why Biden didn’t form a commission to study reparations by executive order. Psaki pointed to other executive actions.
California: “Reparations Taskforce Gets Appointees” A reparations bill to form a taskforce is law in California.
Asheville, NC: “Reparations, Six Months Later: So Far, Empty Promises” Asheville made news earlier about their intentions to provide reparations, but so far, not so good.
Evanston, IL: The city has a Restorative Housing Reparations program, which according to the Chicago Tribune, covers “homeownership, mortgage assistance, and home improvement funds.” The city says it will develop additional remedies for local reparations. Sales tax on cannabis and donations fund the reparations program.
Portland, OR: Portland released a plan to lobby Congress for reparations for Black and Indigenous people.
Providence, RI: Mayor Jorge Elorza says the reparations program in Providence has three phases: Truth Telling, Reconciliation, and Reparations. Currently, the city is in the Truth Telling phase, which aims to find facts about the history of racism in Providence. This reparations program appears to be for Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color.
St Paul, MN: “St. Paul joins handful of cities moving towards reparations for descendants of slaves”
❗️ANTI-ASIAN RACISM AND HATE CRIMES
Resources: Rosalie Cabison has a piece in RollingStone, “What You Can Do About Anti-Asian Violence”
Biden’s Executive Order: Li Zhou from Vox breaks down Biden’s executive order in the piece, “Biden has condemned racism toward Asian Americans. It’s a start.”The photo in the article is a must-see.
🎓EDUCATION
The Classics: According to the New York Times, Dan-el Padilla Peralta, a historian at Princeton, believes “classics has been instrumental to the invention of ‘whiteness’ and its continued domination.” Padilla is calling for the discipline to change or die. Read: “He Wants to Save Classics From Whiteness. Can the Field Survive?”
1619 Project and Critical Race Theory: The GOP wants to keep students ignorant about white racism by banning the 1619 project and facts about American history. Despite those efforts, state legislatures in a few red states have rejected the ban. Read: “GOP states weigh limits on how race and slavery are taught.”
🍼PARENTING
Children and Internalized Racism: Read Brittany Wong’s piece “What To Do If Kids Say They Don’t Want To Be Their Race Anymore”
Black Maternal Momnibus Act of 2021: Representative Lauren Underwood (IL-14) and Senator Cory Booker (NJ) have introduced a bill to address the devastating Black maternal mortality crisis.
💵BIZ
Tipping: Michelle Alexander published an op-ed, “Tipping Is a Legacy of Slavery: Abolish the racist, sexist subminimum wage now.”
Black Farmers: According to The Root, “Democratic Senators introduced the Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act, with 4 billion in relief for non-white farmers, and $1 billion to address systemic racism within the Department of Agriculture. A second bill, the Justice for Black Farmers Act, solves numerous obstacles faced by Black farmers.”
Publix Super Markets: According to Reuters, “An heiress to the Publix Super Markets chain donated about $300,000 to Trump’s rally.” Some families are boycotting Publix.
📺 TV
Host of Racist Show Steps Away: After he downplayed white racism, the host of the Bachelor franchise is stepping back, but he’s likely standing by. The show has been racist, and has a history of racist contestants and racist issues.
Tina: HBO announced a documentary on the life of Tina Turner, which will air on March 27, 8 pm, on HBO and HBOMAX.
Billie Holiday: “The United States Vs. Billie Holiday” airing on Hulu, starting February 26.
🎙MEDIA
Racist Radio Host: “Rush Limbaugh, Spouter of Racist Hate-Filled Garbage, Dead at 70.” White media outlets across the political spectrum had pleasant things to say about Limbaugh. These white eulogies are offensive. The Root said what needed to be said.
The New York Times: A former New York Times reporter resigned after students accused him of saying the N-word and other racist things from his head about Black people.
🤞🏾LAWSUIT
“The NAACP has sued Trump, Giuliani, and two white hate groups” for inciting a riot on January 6. The lawsuit says they violated the Klan Act. Hopefully, there’s something in the works for Don Jr too.
💬OPINION
The Big Lie: Yannick Giovanni Marshall’s opinion piece deserves a standing ovation for its history and candor. Read: “America, the big lie: American unity is won through anti-Black violence.”
Drained-Pool Politics: Heather McGhee was on the Ezra Klein Show. They talked about zero-sum thinking and what McGhee calls drained-pool politics. Read her op-ed for more. Put McGhee’s idea on drained-pool politics with the books “Dying of Whiteness,” “Southern Nation,” and “Negro Liberation.”
🧵TWITTER THREADS
Michael Harriot: on Judas and the Black Messiah, white organizations, Black gangs, and today. See the thread.
DRJessieNYC: on the Texas grid, public utilities, and whites. See the thread.
⚽️🏈SPORTS
Football in Australia: Researchers in Australia recently released a report called “Do Better,” which investigated racism in the Collingwood Football Club. Star AFL player Héritier Lumumba has called the club’s response to the report “shameful.”
Football in the United States: The Jacksonville Jaguars hired a coach accused of “racism and bullying.” After criticism, the coach resigned.
Jemele Hill’s “The Problem with Mandatory Patriotism in Sports” is a persuasive read, full of history, and a relevant perspective.
🌏INTERNATIONAL
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC): Five years after the TRC released its report with calls to redress the legacy of the Indian residential school system, the commissioners say progress is still too slow. The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement required the TRC. See also a project of the University of Minnesota with educators in Manitoba, which seeks to use public education as reparative justice. (Canada)
Calgary Police Service released names of its antiracism committee, which will create an antiracism strategy. The Defund2Fund coalition in Calgary seems cautiously optimistic. (Canada)
Is America the World’s Hate Group? Do whites in other countries use America to feel better about their white racism, the way whites in America use hate groups to feel better about themselves? This opinion piece, which contrasts American white racism and Canadian white racism, has an interesting perspective. Rachel Ricketts says, “I prefer the honest declaration of outright American racism rather than the covert cruelty from Canadian racists.” (Canada)
“Trudeau, George Floyd, and the emergence of Black Canadian identity” (Canada)
“What we have in Canada is just called tolerance’: Experiences of being Black on Vancouver Island” (Canada)
“Over 4,000 Brazilians who won elections as Black candidates previously ran as white” (Brazil)
Leeds Beckett University/Race Trust Founder: The founder of a “race equity charity” called a white-politics (aka conservative/Tory) politician, a house negro in a tweet, and Leeds Beckett University fired the founder. The charity claims the founder didn’t send the tweet. (The UK)
“Anti-Asian Racism Is on the Rise in Australia — and It’s Coming From the Top Down” (Australia)
“Call for Race Relations Legislation in Barbados” (Barbados)
📚HISTORY
Reading List: Dr. Keisha Blain curated a reading list of articles that connect the past to the present. Read: How the Past Echoes in the Protests: A Historian’s Recommended Reads
📍Where to Find Me and Why
Medium: for occasional, short blog posts
Substack: for longer substance by email, free and paid, browse and click through
Email: from your inbox, hit reply to message me
⏭The Next Newsletter
Let’s do it again next week, on February 27. Thanks for reading, sharing, and your support.