Peer-reviewed article
Black Reparations and Child Well-Being: A Framework and Policy Considerations
Lisa A. Gennetian, Christina Gibson-Davis, William A. Darity ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5The paper proposes a child-focused framework for reparations for descendants of enslaved African Americans, drawing on economic human capital theory and bioecological developmental theory. It reports that Black children face more than double the risk of outcomes unfavourable to educational and economic prosperity compared with white peers. The racial wealth gap among households with children in 2019 was comparable to that of 60 years earlier. Simulations suggest that a large wealth transfer in early childhood would narrow gaps in high school graduation and college attendance. The authors also review current U.S. reparations initiatives and report survey results on Black parents' views.
Key points
- Black children bear more than double the risk of outcomes unfavourable to educational and economic prosperity from birth through young adulthood, relative to white peers.
- Racial wealth differences are larger among households with children than without, and the 2019 gap was comparable to that seen 60 years ago.
- Simulations suggest a $130,000 per child wealth transfer in early childhood reduces the black-white high school graduation gap by 13 percentage points.
- The same simulated transfer increases college attendance by 26 percentage points.
- Few existing U.S. reparations initiatives include direct financial transfers or investments specifically for Black families or children; Black parents of young children express support for cash payments and other financial assistance.
Limitations
The abstract does not describe the survey sample, the data sources or the assumptions behind the simulations, and simulated results are not observed outcomes of an actual intervention. The document type is not stated, so it is assumed to be a journal article, and the full text is not available to check methods.
Abstract
We offer a child-centric framework for reparations with considerations for policy and implications for child descendants of enslaved African Americans. We apply economic theory of human capital integrated with the theories of bioecological developmental systems to illustrate the multilayered aspects of harm from the legacy of slavery and racism. Our curation of estimates shows that relative to white peers, black children bear more than double the risk in outcomes unfavorable to educational and economic prosperity from birth through young adulthood. We also find that enduring racial wealth differences are larger among households with children than without children, with the child household racial wealth gap in 2019 remaining comparable to that seen 60 years ago. Simulations suggest that a wealth transfer of $130,000 per child during early childhood reduces the black-white gap in high school graduation by 13 percentage points and increases college attendance by 26 percentage points. A review of existing U.S. reparations initiatives shows that few include direct financial transfers or other forms of investments specifically for black families or children. Based on a contemporary survey, we find that black parents with young children express support for reparations in the form of direct cash payments as well as other forms of financial assistance.