A Constitution Day Discussion on Reparations or Another Attempt at Reconstruction

The U.S. Congress held hearings on reparations for Black Americans on account of slavery last June 19th, or Juneteenth. This September 17th, Constitution Day, ACS Next Generation Leader and CWRU '18 alum Taru Taylor will discuss how reparations could validate, for Black American descendants of slaves, the social contract that was “ordained and established” by We the People. The Constitution denoted slave codes until the Civil War. Reconstruction failed, partly due to the government’s breach of its promised “40 acres and a mule.” And so, despite the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, the Constitution denotes Black Codes to this day. Taylor's talk will emphasize reparations as a means of “restitution,” of making Black people whole and thus completing Reconstruction.

Free and open to the community. Bring a lunch; drinks and dessert provided.