Howard professor urges UN to pressure US for $5M in reparations for black people.

Black Academics Call for Reparations at United Nations

A Howard University professor led a group of black academics who are asking the United Nations to push the United States to make $5 million payouts to black U.S. residents a reality.

Justin Hansford, a Howard University School of Law professor, along with fellow academics from the University of Pittsburgh and Columbia University, made their plea at the U.N. Permanent Forum on People of African Descent. Hansford called for a “process of apology and reparation — not on their terms but on our terms,” according to the Daily Mail.

Proposing Our Own Vision of Justice

“I come to you today with a novel proposal, that we begin to think our own thoughts, propose our own vision of justice, and implement that justice,” Hansford said during U.N. racial justice talks in New York City.

Hansford, a descendant of slaves in Georgia, argued that these reparation payouts to black U.S. residents should be assessed on a case-by-case basis. He also stated that for families who have gone through generations of “horrific” oppression, the $5 million amount would be “on the low end of what’s appropriate.”

Hansford’s comments come after President Joe Biden spoke at Howard University last month, describing white supremacy as “the most dangerous terrorist threat to our homeland.”

San Francisco’s Reparations Plan

The city of San Francisco is working on its own plan for reparations for black residents in the city. The plan includes giving million to residents, along with personal debt and tax burdens, a guaranteed annual income of at least $97,000 for the next 250 years, and several homes in the city for $1 per family. However, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, a Democrat, stated in April that she has no plans to support the plan.

“I know the committee is still working over the next couple of months to complete and issue the final report, and I look forward to reviewing those recommendations once they are finalized and make it clear in regards to my support at that time,” Breed said.

Reparations for black U.S. residents have been a topic of debate for years, and this recent call to action by black academics at the United Nations adds to the ongoing conversation.