Reimagining Reparations: Building a Culture of Repair

The issue of reparations has recently gained considerable momentum. However, many define reparations narrowly — as cash payments, relegated to the public sector, and only benefitting Black people.

Liberation Ventures thinks differently. Reparations for slavery and its legacy are not just about money or policy; reparations are comprehensive repair and require shifting narratives and culture. Building a culture of repair across sectors benefits not just Black people, but catalyzes a true multiracial democracy — for all of us.

Philanthropy has a critical role to play in advancing this work. Foundations can try to repair their own history of disinvestment, extractive grantmaking, and wealth hoarding. Philanthropy is also uniquely positioned to resource the movement for reparations — so long as they adhere to the principles of trust, equity, and transformation that undergird repair.

In this session, we invite participants to explore racial repair at multiple levels: interpersonally, institutionally, and in society writ large. Leveraging LV’s racial repair framework, we’ll consider how we individually seek to repair harm in our personal relationships — and why this is so important to living healthy, whole lives. This session invites participants to imagine what the world looks like on the other side of reparations — with a culture of repair.