Reparations Daily (ish) Vol. 37

At the Risk of Seeming Ridiculous

Sep 13, 2021

Happy Monday! I hope you all had wonderful weekends!

There are a bunch of interesting articles, podcasts, and interactives that have come out over the past week; here are some of my recommendations of what you might want to take a look at:

I believe the ongoing national conversation around critical race theory is inextricably linked to the conversation around reparations. If we cannot even teach our children the accurate history of racism, slavery, or white supremacy in this country, how can we ever have a conversation about racial repair and redress? This USA Today piece highlights a recent poll that found that 60 percent of American parents want their kids to learn about the ongoing effects of slavery and racism. Still, just half of parents support teaching critical race theory in schools. It’s a thought-provoking article that describes the current misunderstanding of what critical race theory is. In addition, the New Yorker published a profile on Derrick Bell, the lawyer who coined and popularized critical race theory. I hope you can find the time to read both, as I think they give great context for understanding the US's current state of racial affairs.
This opinion piece in Yes! Magazine which argues that reshaping the labor relationship between employers and employees is a form of reparations, which I don’t necessarily agree with. Addressing and improving labor relations is important in building a more equitable economy. Still, the author, at least in this piece does not do a convincing job as to why it should be considered reparations. Still, I think it’s worth a read.
Inequality.org reported on a new interactive website from the folks over at Take on Wall St. The site is isoureconomyfair.org, and it walks you through the history of the creation of the U.S. economy. Starting in 1607 with the dispossession, it asks you questions as you scroll through the different eras, like “how much time do you think elapsed between the first British efforts to colonize and the disappearance of the Paspahegh tribe?” I love the way they introduce the interactive, with “economies are created not born.” It’s highly informative and a resource I’ll be saving in my Bookmarks.
WUNC did an audio series titled The ARC of Justice in collaboration with Duke University whose that takes a page from Dr. William Darity and Kirsten Mullen’s book, From Here to Equality. As you might remember, Dr. Darity was featured in Vol. 31 of the newsletter. The last episode of the series is called ‘Paying the Debt'’’ and it features conversations with him, Kirsten Mullen, an Alderperson from Evanston, IL, and others where they discuss the current state of the reparations debate. It touches on many of the same topics that Dr. Darity and I touched on but it offers new perspectives. Give it a listen!
Reparations Daily (ish)
Reparations Daily (ish) Vol. 31
Happy Monday! I’m sorry to have missed two editions last week. I, unfortunately, tested positive for Covid-19 last Wednesday. My symptoms have included feeling very lethargic, backaches, fever, and congestion. I’m fully vaccinated but I think that I picked it up from one of the bars I went to last Saturday. It’s an unfortunate reminder that this pandemi…
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3 years ago · Trevor Smith

I was listening to a talk this weekend, and someone used this Che Guverra quote, which goes, “at the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that a great feeling of love guides the true revolutionary. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality. We must strive every day so that this love of living humanity will be transformed into actual deeds, into acts that serve as examples, as a moving force.”

It resonated with me and reminded me why I sign off these newsletters the way that I do, and I hope it’s inspiring to you, too, as you start off this week.

With radical love,
Trevor