University Showcase, 2/19, 8a: On this episode we explore the concept or reparations with Kathy Powers, who has been studying transitional justice and reparations around the world for years. She’s an associate professor of political science at the University of New Mexico.

Credit Courtesy Kathy Powers

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Courtesy Kathy Powers

  The concept of reparations is ancient, but it in the United State the issue has gained renewed urgency in the wake of last year's police killings of African Americans. Democratic presidential candidates debated the issue in 2020 and recently the House Judiciary Subcommittee held a hearing to discuss establishing a federal commission to explore reparations for the descendants of enslaved Americans.   

Additional reading:

• First look: ACLU to push reparations bill, Southern expansion - Axios

• The Case For Reparations - The Atlantic

• Oklahoma Lawsuit Seeks Reparations In Connection To 1921 Tulsa Massacre - NPR

• Victim's Justice in the Aftermath of Political Violence: Why Do Countries Award Reparations? By Kathy Powers and Kim Proctor - Foreign Policy Analysis
• What can the world tell us about U.S. reparations? LAITS Podcast with Kathy Powers
• H.R. 40: Exploring the Path to Reparative Justice in America - testimony submitted by Human Rights Watch

• Embracing reparations debases blacks, raises troubling questions - opinion piece by Robert L. Woodson Sr.