Chicago Tribune

Eric Zorn: How the term 'reparations' is getting in the way of historical justice

The best way to begin to repair the damage wrought by our nation's troubled racial history is to dump the politically toxic word "reparations."

Even casual students of history know that black Americans were first legally then systemically disadvantaged by slavery, Jim Crow, discrimination and segregation, and that those disadvantages resulted in a national wound that has yet to heal and seems unlikely to heal on its own.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Chicago Tribune

Chicago Tribune3 min read
Sky Players Voice Confidence In New Team Identity Under Teresa Weatherspoon: ‘She’s Allowing Us To Be Ourselves’
CHICAGO — There’s just one week until Teresa Weatherspoon makes her mark on the WNBA — for the second time in her Hall of Fame career. The Chicago Sky’s new head coach will make her debut at the helm of a professional team next week with the Sky’s se
Chicago Tribune6 min read
Tiny Pieces Of Plastic Pose One Of The Biggest Threats To Chicago River Wildlife And Water Quality
CHICAGO — Wendella engineer Miguel Chavez climbed down a ladder and over a small dock Wednesday to pull up a trap floating in the Chicago River near the Michigan Avenue Bridge. The size of a standard garbage can, the trap is designed to collect trash
Chicago Tribune4 min read
New COVID ‘FLiRT’ Variants Are Spreading Nationwide. Chicago Health Experts Urge Up To Date Vaccination
CHICAGO — A new family of COVID variants nicknamed “FLiRT” is spreading across the country, as vaccination rates in Chicago — as well as nationwide — remain concerningly low for some public health experts. While symptoms and severity seem to be abou

Related Books & Audiobooks