Be it resolved, justice demands the payment of reparations for the victims of slavery and their descendants.

Supporters of reparations believe they are essential to addressing the historical wrongs of some of darkest chapters in American and world history and achieving social justice in our own time. The trauma of slavery in western societies is ongoing and responsible for the discrimination and social ills experienced by millions of people. Reparations substantively acknowledge and address these wrongs. Critics of reparations argue that the people who are owed reparations are no longer living and by collecting on their debts millions of fellow citizens would be defined, without their choice or input, as victims. Reparations also risk undermining public support to address the range of important issues facing racialized communities today including police violence, housing, poverty alleviation and justice reform.