Paid in full: The shocking truth behind reparations

By Virgil Walker, Op-ed contributor Friday, March 01, 2024 A man is silhouetted against the ”Door of No Return” at the House of Slaves on Goree Island near Senegal’s capital Dakar March 16, 2007. Millions of Africans were shipped from places like this whitewashed fort in Elmina, Ghana, to a life of slavery in Brazil, the Caribbean and America. The world will mark the bicentenary of the end of the Atlantic slave trade on March 25. | Reuters/Finbarr O’Reilly Similar to Lucy convincing Charlie Brown that she’ll hold the football steady for a satisfying kick, politicians every four years seek to persuade black voters of their support for reparations. Once in office, the newly appointed official, much like Lucy’s familiar routine, disappoints black voters by retracting support at a crucial moment, reminiscent of Charlie Brown’s repeated misfortune of missing the football and ending up flat on his back. As the next election cycle looms, Democratic candidates and their media allies once again focus on reparations, giving hope and a promise to black Americans that amends will be made for the wrongs done. Through his influential perspective, the author and activist Ta-Nehisi Coates has strengthened the case for reparations over the...