Reparations,Explained in Five Answers

Reparations are repayment of a debt the United States incurred through slavery and the laws that followed it. They are an inheritance owed, not charity or a social program.

• A remedy for documented, government-backed harm
• Owed to the descendants of the people harmed
• Measured in records: wages withheld, land taken, wealth blocked

Reparations Explained

Reparations: Our Rightful Inheritance

Reparations Explained

The 5 Requirements of Reparations

Delineation means defining eligibility by lineage — descent from people enslaved in the United States — so a remedy reaches the specific group that was harmed.

• Eligibility follows family records, not skin color
• Prevents a remedy from being diluted across groups with different histories
• California's task force adopted a lineage standard in 2022

Lineage & Eligibility

Delineation and What It Means for Reparations

Lineage & Eligibility

Who Qualifies for Reparations? Inside the Push for a Federal Lineage Registry

Race is a broad category. Lineage is a documented family line. A lineage-based program asks, ‘Is your ancestor on the record of those enslaved here?’ — a question courts treat very differently from race.

• Lineage claims rest on census, Freedmen's Bureau and property records
• The 1870 census is the first to name most freed people
• A lineage standard is easier to defend legally than a race-based one

Genealogy

Researching Your Family History

Legal Analysis

The Legal Questions Every Reparations Program Must Answer

Estimates add up specific harms — unpaid labor, land loss, Jim Crow exclusion, redlining — then carry them forward with interest to today's dollars. Totals range into the trillions depending on method.

• Start with the value of uncompensated labor, 1619–1865
• Add later losses: land, wages, housing and credit exclusion
• Compound to present value; compare to the current racial wealth gap

Federal Ledger

The $14 Trillion Federal Balance Sheet: How Sovereign Debt Actually Gets Funded

Economic Justice

Would Reparations Bankrupt America? How the Debt Can Be Paid

H.R. 40 would create a federal commission to study and propose reparations; it has never received a House floor vote. States like California have studied the issue and passed limited measures.

• H.R. 40 first introduced in 1989
• California's task force issued its final report in 2023
• Track every bill's status in our Legislation Tracker

Federal Policy

Inside the Federal Reparations Debate

State Policy

California's Reparations Initiatives: What Has Actually Changed?

1. Step 1

   Read the primer →

   Five short answers to the questions every newcomer asks.

2. Step 2

   Check the receipts →

   The documents behind the debt, linked to their archives.

3. Step 3

   Track the bills →

   Every federal and state measure, updated daily.

Unfamiliar term? See the glossary.