Reparations
Latest episode of Love Your Neighbor explores an effort in racial healing
Many church communities are asking how they can be agents of repair amid the racial fragmentation around us and across United States history. The latest episode of Love Your Neighbor explores one effort in reparations, based at Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) where I teach. Many dioceses and congregations are having conversations about reparations or starting reparations, and this podcast offers vital perspective for such efforts.
The interview explores VTS’s reparations program from the inside through my interview with Ebonee Davis-Hayes, Director of Reparations at VTS. Check out the episode on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Ebonee walks you through the program, from its inception to the research process of finding descendants of Black laborers on campus to hurdles the program has faced along the way. Throughout it all, her commitment to justice and repair shines through. We come away with a clear sense that reparations are vital to a society that wants to take its past sins seriously, that reparations are going to be difficult, and that we won’t always get it right.
Nevertheless, it’s doable. I sometimes hear people say, “reparations would be too complicated,” and the conversation ends there. Ebonee shows that’s not the case. While different organizations can and should have different approaches to reparations—because each situation is different—there are some basic steps and principles that can guide the work. And we have to try.
The interview is also a remarkable example of the moral life in action as Ebonee synthesizes practical, ethical, and historical considerations. There’s flexibility and responsiveness to circumstance that displays careful ethical thinking and action.
Finally, if your organization is doing this kind of work, get in touch because it might make for a great story to share on the podcast. I’m especially interested in talking with folks whose churches or organizations were founded more recently, e.g. during White fight, and are involved in work of racial healing.
Recommended Readings
Here’s a video on VTS’s reparations work, a great place to start for those thinking about this work.
The program was featured here in the New York Times.
An excellent book on reparations in the United States is William A. Darity, Jr. and A. Kirsten Mullen, From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century.
In the episode I mention philosopher Achille Mbembe on reparations, his book Critique of Black Reason has a remarkable discussion on reparations especially in the conclusion. Here is a free interview with Mbembe as well where reparations gets extensive attention.
https://rosskane.com/
