A serious read about the necessity of reparations for the American Descendants of Slaves.

Parts 1, 2, and 6 were thought-provoking and powerful. These sections constitute excellent contributions to the topic, and I will likely draw on them as I plan lessons. The middle was repetitive, disorganized, and unfocused, to the point that I found it extremely frustrating to read. It didn't add much to the argument and would've made more of an impact had it been condensed into a chapter or two that was tightly focused on building a case for reparations. It was also a marked divergence from the rest of the book, as the rest of the book does a good job of marshaling historical evidence to make its economic points. The middle segments, however, read more like something that seems to want to be a historical summary of the mid- to late 1800s, but the authors aren't historians by training, and it shows. Having expert authors write from a disciplinary perspective that is absolutely not their own was an odd choice, especially for an academic book. There were also a few subtle digs at other minority groups that, whether intentional or not, were particularly glaring, jarring, and upsetting given the topic of this book. Bottom line-- this book costs only about $30, so if you're new to the topic, you'd probably get your money's worth out of Parts 1, 2, and 6 (Part 6 is particularly innovative and does an excellent job of crystallizing the key arguments in favor of reparations). Just skip the middle and read Ta-Nehisi Coates' "The Case for Reparations" instead. 2 stars if you already know a bunch about reparations and racial injustice in the US; 3.5-4 stars if you don't.

Sandy and Kirsten make a strong moral and legal case for reparations, AND they present a solid plan for what those reparations should look like.

A well documented history of 400 years of slavery, Jim Crow and racism as well as the attempts at reparations which failed but could have left us in a better place than we are today. I really liked the chapter on criticisms of reparations, I thought that was really helpful for me to wrap my head around the “against” argument and it’s counter rebuttal.

A very good book. Answers many of the most common questions around reparations. Balances focus on history while also looking forward to what reparations might look like in concrete terms.