Reparations and Reparatory Justice

This week's review presents a historical overview of the movement for reparations and envisions what reparatory justice could entail going forward.

Posted on February 24, 2025 in Reviews of the Month

Reparations and Reparatory Justice: Past, Present, and Future

ed. by Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua, Mary Frances Berry, and V. P. Franklin Illinois, 2024
249p bibl index, 9780252045776 $110.00, 9780252087875 $19.95, 9780252056642 $14.95

This reader is a crucial volume for anyone who wants to understand the current social and political climate. The text begins with speeches and documents on reparations from a variety of individuals, including Ron Daniels, Danny Glover, and Sheila Jackson Lee. It is inspiring to read these in one collection. The information represented is essential to understanding the history of the movement for reparations and the background undergirding Americans’ current social and political situation. It is also valuable to be able to cite those individuals who have been involved with the movement, many of whom are not well known to current students. This reviewer found that bringing together information from the National African American Reparations Commission with issues involving higher education provides a new dimension to these individual pieces. The chapters in part 2 are uniquely aligned and provide substantial information on moving forward. This book is both a comprehensive history and a roadmap explaining where Americans are now and where they could be in the future. For a volume that is so information heavy, it is easy to read and understand. Students should have no problems engaging with the text. It is also a great refresher for faculty.

Summing Up: Essential. General readers through faculty.
Reviewer: L. L. Lovern, Valdosta State University
Interdisciplinary Subjects: African and African American Studies, Racial Justice
Subject: Social & Behavioral Sciences
Choice Issue: Dec 2024

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