…To date, no reparations case (filed either by former slaves or by descendants of slaves) has resulted in a successful outcome for the plaintiffs. In fact, every public action for reparations has been dismissed without a determination on the merits. Thus, because of sovereign immunity for the U.S. government and procedural bars of standing and statutes of limitations, it is highly unlikely that there will be a successful reparations case based on the injuries inflicted by slavery itself. The present case [In re African American Slave Descendants Litig., 471 F.3d 754, 757-58 (7th Cir. 2006)] is the first private action reparations case to result in a judicial opinion.

1. Goals of Reparations

The goals of reparations extend beyond monetary compensation or an apology by the government. Reparations seek “both an accounting of and for past behavior, and some kind of reckoning for that behavior.” This reckoning would be brought about through redistribution of resources in American society. While common perceptions of redistribution focus on economic redistribution, Professor Charles Ogletree writes that reparations are “yet another expression of the demand for political, social, and economic equality that, since the failure of the Civil Rights movement in the 1970s, has been stifled and suppressed in this country.” Certainly one can envision many ways to achieve political, social, and economic equality, but it does not stretch the imagination to think that African American citizens winning lawsuits against large corporations are taking a step in the right direction.

2. A Brief History of Reparations

The history of reparations in the United States is certainly not one that played out in the courts. In 1988, Congress enacted the Civil Liberties Act, issuing reparations to Japanese Americans who had been held in internment camps, held in custody elsewhere, relocated, or otherwise deprived of liberty during World War II due to Executive Order 9066. The Civil Liberties Act came out of lobbying efforts in Congress by Japanese Americans to create a commission to “determine whether a wrong was committed against those American citizens and permanent residents relocated or interned as a result of Executive Order 9066.” Congress created the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, and the commission found that grave injustices had been inflicted upon Japanese American citizens by the U.S. Government. The bill called for the nation to issue an official apology and to provide $20,000 to living internees. Unfortunately, similar efforts for reparations for slavery have been unsuccessful. As early as 1989, Congressman John Conyers introduced a reparations bill in Congress; although re-introduced every year, the bill has yet to be passed into law.

Source: Tara Kolar Ramchandani. Judicial Recognition of the Harms of Slavery: Consumer Fraud As An Alternative to Reparations Litigation. 42 Harv. C.R.-C.L. L. Rev. 541, 548-550 (2007).