In the 1960s, Athens's urban renewal program evicted a Black neighborhood through eminent domain to build dorms for University of Georgia students. In response to displaced families' demands, Athens-Clarke County has set aside money dedicated to public projects of their choosing, a form of reparations for the community that was lost.
The recent commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the bloody Elaine Massacre sought to correct the historical record and start hard conversations, while the community wrestles with the ongoing legacies of racial trauma and injustice.
The issue of reparations for slavery is once again getting attention in Washington, with legislation introduced to study the matter getting unprecedented levels of support. Many of the Democrats hoping to unseat President Trump are embracing the concept.
Law professor Angela A. Allen-Bell of Southern University discusses the connections between slavery and mass incarceration in the context of the planned Aug. 19 march in Washington, D.C. The gathering is calling for the 13th Amendment's enslavement clause to be amended to abolish legalized slavery in prisons.
