In the People’s Republic of California, the possibility of reparations just got real. A state task force recently recommended cash payments to descendants of enslaved Africans and African Americans.
Some proponents say this would pay a debt that dates back to Uncle Sam’s broken promise to provide newly freed slaves with “40 acres and a mule” to help them start a new life. Others insist that reparations are necessary — along with an apology — so our nation can heal, and that the process begins with atoning for America’s original sin.