Reparations

Reparations in the United States

The subject of reparations is controversial in contemporary U.S. society, particularly when discussed in the context of oppression. In some cases, reparations can directly compensate individuals or groups for economic losses suffered as a result of oppression. More frequently, they involve symbiotic payments that officially acknowledge wrongdoing by the dominant group and investment in efforts to address present-day inequalities that have resulted from past injuries. Reparations can thus symbolize a step toward equality, but there is disagreement about whether oppressed groups need to be compensated in order to achieve equality.

Despite the controversy over whether oppressed groups should be compensated or not, there are some cases of the U.S. government giving reparations to address violations of justice and equality in localized settings. For example, in the late 1860s, Russia sold Alaska to the United States without any consideration of the native inhabitants' rights or ownership of the land. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (1971) restored 44 million acres of land and $1 billion to Alaska Natives. Also, in 1994, residents of Rosewood, Florida, an all-black town destroyed by lynchings and property damage in 1923, received monetary compensation from the state of Florida for their loss of property. Most contemporary discussions of reparations focus on two examples of national inequity, namely Japanese American internment and African American slavery, that have been addressed in contrasting ways.

Japanese American Internment

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japan in 1941, the United States entered into a war with Japan, Germany, and Italy. Many people questioned Japanese Americans' loyalty to the United States. In February 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, authorizing the relocation of all U.S. citizens of Japanese, German, or Italian ancestry to internment camps. The order required that Japanese Americans, German Americans, and Italian Americans living in designated regions leave their businesses, homes, and many of their belongings to live in poorly constructed, cramped living quarters for an indefinite period of time. While the order did affect the lives of citizens of German and Italian ancestry, the order had a more far-reaching effect on the Japanese Americans. For the duration of the war, more than 120,000 Japanese American families, both immigrants and American born, were held in internment camps in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, California, and Arizona.