Across the United States, the demand for reparations has moved from the margins of debate to the center of local and state politics. While federal legislation has stalled for decades, cities like Evanston, Illinois, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, as well as states like California, are pioneering concrete steps to repair the harms of slavery, segregation, and systemic racism. From housing initiatives and educational funds to community development projects, these efforts are reshaping how justice can be pursued in practice.
In his new report for the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung New York Office, author John Feffer examines the resurgence of the reparations movement at a time when national politics are marked by backlash and regression on civil rights.
He shows how grassroots organizing, city councils, and state task forces are advancing innovative programs that go far beyond symbolism, providing direct support, building wealth, and fostering healing in Black communities. At the same time, the report highlights the challenges these initiatives face: lawsuits, political resistance, funding hurdles, and fundamental debates over who should benefit and how reparations should be delivered.
With public opinion shifting, local victories multiplying, and national resistance hardening, The Reparations Movement: Flourishing Amid Backlash offers a timely and accessible overview of one of the most urgent struggles for racial justice in the twenty-first century. It provides context, examples, and analysis that will be useful to anyone interested in how reparations are being imagined, fought for, and realized in the United States today.
