Reparations Pro and Con [Hardcover]

Today, the debate over reparations--whether African-Americans should be compensated for decades of racial subjugation--stands as the most racially divisive issue in American politics. In this short, definitive work, Alfred L. Brophy, an expert on racial violence, regards the debate over reparations from the 1700s to the present, examining the arguments on both sides of the current debate. Taking us inside litigation and legislatures past and present, examining failed and successful lawsuits, and reparations actions by legislatures, newspapers, schools, and businesses, including apologies and truth commissions, this book offers a valuable historical and legal perspective for reparations advocates and critics alike.


Introduction
Part I. Understanding Reparations: Reparations Definitions, Goals, History, and Theory
1. Reparations Definitions
2. Black (and Other) Reparations
Part II. Reparations Ascendant: The Recent Renascence of Reparations Debate and Refined Reparations Theory
3. The Modern Black Reparations Movement: Why Now, Why, and What?
4. Against Reparations
Part III. Implementing Reparations: Reparations Practice
5. Evaluating Reparations Lawsuits
6. Legislative Reparations
Part IV. Possibilities for the Future
7. Reparations Future, Realistic Reparations, and Models of Reparations
Appendices and Documents Related to Reparations
Notes
For Further Reading
Index

A comprehensive yet very accessible book on a controversial topic...an outstanding source. Recommended. --CHOICE

Amidst the often rancorous national debate over reparations for slavery, Alfred Brophy'sReparations: Pro and Constands out as a work of rare balance and judiciousness. Rather than offering another partisan polemic, Brophy takes seriously the arguments of both advocates and opponents of reparations, illuminating the col