Authors: Lisa A. Gennetian, Christina Gibson-Davis, & William A. Darity Jr.
Journal: Nature Human Behavior
Abstract: Enslavement of African Americans and the legacy of structural racism have led to disproportionate hardship for black people in the USA. Reparations realize unfulfilled promises of financial compensation and redress. Existing US reparations initiatives have not yet included financial transfers or investments in black families or children, which a survey shows black parents support. We offer a three-pronged approach of child-specific, family-level and systemic educational and information renumeration via a child-centric reparations framework. Mechanisms for such government transfers have precedent in the USA but face limitations in that their broader implementation would also require political will. Such wealth transfers may address economically meaningful differences that persist between black and white children’s outcomes at nearly every developmental stage from infancy to young adulthood and long-standing racial wealth differences among US households with children.
Key Takeaways
- Black-white disparities are present at nearly every developmental stage from infancy to young adulthood.
- Black children are more than twice as likely to experience negative outcomes tied to the criminal justice system, public education, and child welfare systems.
- Racial wealth gaps are larger among households with children compared to those without, and have remained persistently high since 1995.
- Wealth infusions of $103,000–$122,000 per household could help reduce racial gaps in high school graduation and college attendance.
- The proposed reparations plan includes three parts: restitution of child income, restitution of family-level wealth, and systemic redress of historical harms.
Citation: Gennetian, L.A., Gibson-Davis, C. & Darity, W.A. A framework and policy case for black reparations to support child well-being in the USA. Nat Hum Behav (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02189-3
