Reparations for Black Communities through Educational Reform

Introduction

Background. Just over four centuries ago, the first African slaves arrived in the United States, beginning what would become a rapidly growing and lucrative industry well into the 19th century. Indeed, by the start of the Civil War in 1861, there were nearly 4 million black slaves in the United States despite the federal government banning the importation of new African slaves in 1808 (Hacker, 2021). In fact, the importation of African slaves did little to stop the trade and the practice continued on a large scale after 1808 in defiance of federal law (Africans in America, 2022). Although precise figures are unavailable, current estimates indicate that during the period between 1619 and 1865, enslaved Africans in the U.S. contributed 410 billion hours of labor to the American economy (Hacker, 2021). Moreover, modern scholars routinely underestimate the economic value of these billions of hour of forced labor, and the value could easily run into the trillions of dollars depending on which calculation method is used (Darity et al., 2022).

Beyond the capital that was produced by slaves in the United States, the value of their physical bodies which were used to generate this capital was estimated to exceed all of the investments in the burgeoning republics railroads and factories combined (Ray & Perry, 2020). The net effect of these financial contributions to the U.S. was to further enrich American society in general and elite white slaveowners in particular at the expense of the blood and sweat of their human captives. In this regard, Ray and Perry (2020) emphasize that, Slavery enriched white slave owners and their descendants, and it fueled the countrys economy while suppressing wealth building for the enslaved (para. 6).

These are critically important points when discussing the issue of reparations in a modern context because they underscore the fact that not only did slavery unjustly enrich white slaveowners during its existence, it also helped to build intergenerational wealth among their descendants that would not otherwise have been possible. In other words, many of the descendants of slaveowners continue to benefit from the forced labor of their ancestors who were either brough to this country against their will or were born into lifelong servitude by virtue of the U.S. Constitution. Indeed, the post-Civil War scenario would have been nightmarish enough for the four million recently freed slaves in the United States, most of whom lacked the skills that were needed to secure meaningful employment, but their suffering did not end in April 1865.

As the research that follows will show, emancipated blacks continued to suffer from a constellation of unconstitutional stratagems that were specifically intended to prevent them from exercising their franchise or improving their station in life. Despite some progress over the past 70 years in helping African Americans secure their voting rights and equitable access to public institutions, blacks in the United States remain marginalized today as measured by every quality of life standard available. In fact, African Americans have much higher incarceration rates, die younger, poorer and less educated on average compared to their white counterparts, and these grim statistics have remained largely unchanged or have even worsened -- for far too long. As Ray and Perry (2020) point out:

The United States has yet to compensate descendants of enslaved Black Americans for their labor. Nor has the federal government atoned for the lost equity from anti-Black housing, transportation, and business policy. Slavery, Jim Crow segregation, anti-Black practices like redlining, and other discriminatory public policies in criminal justice and education have robbed black Americans of the opportunities to build wealth (defined as assets minus debt) afforded to their white peers. (para. 7)

The foregoing issues directly relate to the problem of interest to this study which is explicated below.

Problem Statement. The history of black oppression in the United States is well documented. From the days of slavery through the Jim Crow era and into the present, black Americans have faced discrimination and violence at the hands of their white counterparts. This long history of racism has left black communities at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to education. In order to begin to rectify this injustice, reparations should be paid in the form of educational reform.

Purpose. The overarching purpose of this study was to develop a timely and informed answer to the guiding research question, In what ways can education reform serve as reparation for black communities? To this end, the paper will show that educational reform should take many forms, including but not limited to: increased funding for black-majority schools, hiring more black teachers and administrators, and increasing curriculum options that focus on the experiences and contributions of black Americans.

This purpose is highly congruent with the need for the citizens of the United States to achieve a reckoning with the lingering legacy of segregation in its public education system. School districts should be desegregated in order to promote diversity and equity in our schools. It is important to remember that reparations are not a handout; they are a way to begin to make up for centuries of oppression and maltreatment. Educational reform is one small step toward justice for black Americans. It is time for the country to make things right as discussed further below.

Need for Reparations for Black Communities

Argument. As noted above, it is critically important to note that reparations are not the same thing as restitution or compensation. In fact, the payment of repaations is specifically intended to address a serious legal wrong that has been inflicted on others. In this regard, Blacks Law Dictionary (1998) generally defines reparations as the, Payment for injury or damage; redress for a wrong done (p. 1298). In the context of American slavery, Green et al. (2017) define reparations as a program of acknowledgment, redress, and closure of a grievance injustice [which in the case of blacks] include[s] slavery, legal segregation (Jim Crow), and ongoing discrimination and stigmatization (p. 485).

In other words, most of the advocates of reparations are not suggesting that the United States pay the tens of millions of direct descendants of African American slaves cash money in return for their ancestors billions of dollars worth of forced labor, but rather to redress a wrong done by leveling the educational playing field. In fact, the Overton window has never been open as wide in public support for reparations. For example, according to Darity and Mullen (2022), While the nation has not arrived at a political majority that approves of black reparations, there has been a marked growth in public and political support for it (p. ix). Indeed, a confluence of trends seems to have created something of a sea change in thinking about the payment of reparations to the descendants of black slaves and Darity and Mullen (2022) suggest that there may never be a better opportunity to achieve this outcome. For example, according to Darity and Mullen (2022):

While most reports on public opinion toward black American reparations emphasize the still substantial opposition, a shift in support from 4 in 100 persons to 30 in 100 is a dramatic change. The trajectory is positive. Whether this support can be nurtured and sustained remains to be seen, but it does look like there is a much greater opportunity for redress than has been present at any previous point in our lifetimes. (p. X).

It is therefore essential for American policymakers to strike while political iron is hot if blacks in the United States are ever going to realize full equality with the mainstream population. The cumulative effects of the institutionalized racism that emerged following the end of the Civil War have diminished the expectations of most blacks in the United States that they will ever share fully in their traditional American dream (Ray & Perry, 2020). Moreover, longstanding negative stereotypes about blacks have created a national mindset, among some people of color as well, that the current state of affairs is the natural result of personal lifestyle decisions rather than a lifelong struggle against racism and the deleterious effects this can have on the entire spectrum of the human condition.

As noted above, blacks in the United States today generate about ten times less wealth compared to whites, and white college graduates enjoy seven times as much wealth compared to blacks who graduate from college. As Ray and Perry (2020) conclude, Making the American Dream an equitable reality demands the same U.S. government that denied...…and contributions that have been made to the country by black Americans over the past 400 years as discussed further below.

Increasing curriculum options

A growing body of scholarship confirms that students perform better academically on curricular offerings that are relevant to their lives. For instance, Briggs (2014) points out that, Students need a personal connection to the material, whether thats through engaging them emotionally or connecting the new information with previously acquired knowledge. Without that, students may not only disengage and quickly forget, but they may also lose the motivation to try (para. 5). Therefore, increasing curriculum options to include the experiences of and the contributions that have been made by black Americans will make learning more relevant and improve academic interest and performance as a concomitant result.

Many subjects, however, such as math or science, may not be especially amenable to reshaping to make them specifically relevant for black students, but there are some general steps that they can take to this end, including the following:

Discussing how theory can be applied in practice;

Making a link to local cases;

Relating subject matter to everyday applications; and,

Discussing and finding applications in current newsworthy issues and events (Briggs, 2014).

In addition, far too many American school districts set the bar low for black students by providing less rigorous curricular offerings compared to predominately white schools. In this regard, Colgren and Sappington (2015) cite the academic achievement disparities between black Americans and other minorities and white students as firm evidence that the United States is failing to provide appropriate curricular offerings that motivate young black people to learn, most especially at the primary levels. Based on their analysis, Colgren and Sappington (2015) emphasize that, Achievement equity is not currently a reality in American public schooling. This problem is perhaps most visible as a result of achievement disparities across racial and socioeconomic backgrounds (p. 26).

These disparities are further exacerbated by the fact that far fewer black students have access to advanced placement (AP) classes and therefore lack the same opportunities to learn as their white counterparts. For instance, according to Colgren and Sappington (2015), White students outperform African American and Latino students because of their increased access to rigorous educational opportunities. Therefore, it can be reasoned that low-income students and children of color will achieve at higher levels if provided the opportunity to participate in more rigorous AP courses (p. 29). In other words, set the academic bar higher and challenge black students to excel.

School vouchers

A final strategy for effecting meaningful education reform in furtherance of the payment of reparations to the descendants of black slaves in the United States is to provide black students attending underperforming public schools with school vouchers that will allow them to attend another local, predominately white and/or religion-funded school of their choice that offers better learning opportunities (Cheng & Peterson, 2021). It is important to note, though, that school vouchers are not a standalone solution to reducing educational inequities since only a small percentage of black students will benefit from these and they also fail to address the wide range of other socioeconomic factors that combine to adversely affect the learningexperience for black students in the United States today (Cheng & Peterson, 2021).

Conclusion

Complex problems require complex solutions and the research was consistent in showing that this is certainly the case with the payment of reparations to the descendants of black slaves in the United States today. The research showed that public opinion in support of the payment of reparations has never been greater, but many Americans are still reluctant to hand over their hard-earned tax dollars for this purpose. Nevertheless, the payment f reparations in the form of educational reform to the descendants of black slaves are not a hand out and they are not even a hand up. Indeed, the payment of reparations in the form of educational reform as described above, even at this late date, is simply restorative justice in action, albeit too little, too late according to some critics. Moreover, the educational reform initiatives described above will benefit all students irrespective of their race by improving the nations public schools in ways that help prepare young learners to better compete in an increasingly globalized workplace. In reality, though,…