Rethinking Reparations: Rebuilding for Reform and Revolution

Du Bois set in motion a great century-long debate with his observation at the end of the 19th century that the history of the 20th century would be struggles over the color line.1 More than a rhetorical debate it summed up political struggle on all levels, from local towns in Mississippi to the global dynamics of capital in unprecedented patterns of accumulation. At the beginning of the 21st century we can state that while the quality of life of the peoples of most of Asia, Africa, and Latin America remains essentially unchanged or has gotten worse, what has changed is the consensus about what to do. During colonialism, we had an anti-colonial movement for national liberation, we had consensus about the problems and solutions of the historical moment. Now we have been disoriented by neo-colonialism. When facing segregation, we built a civil rights movement. Now we have been disoriented with de jure civil rights covering up for de facto segregation and degradation. In earlier periods, white leadership dominated. Now there are very visible black faces in high places taking the lead on the very policies designed to oppress and exploit. If ever there was a time for intellectual