The Debt That Remains

The economic argument for reparations is not about guilt — it is about accounting. Generations of unpaid labor created wealth that was passed down through white families and institutions while Black Americans started from zero, often in hostile economic environments designed to keep them there.

The cost of that unpaid labor is staggering - and its effects are still measurable today. The racial wealth gap remains stark: in the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, the median white family held about six times the wealth of the median Black family.