26 Feb What You Need to Know about Reparations, Race and Workplace Equity

House Bill HR 40, calling for reparations, has been introduced to every sitting Congress since 1989—where it has subsequently died in committee. It was only last summer that the 2019 edition of the bill, introduced by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, finally made it all the way to a public hearing. Reparations are also making their way into the public consciousness as the topic has been front and center in the 2020 Democratic candidate debates.

What does the Word Reparations Mean?

In the debate scenario, the candidates are using the word “reparations” to refer to cash payments by the government to descendants of slaves. The HR 40 bill (and subsequent Senate companion bill introduced by Sen. Cory Booker), however, asks a deeper question.  If passed, the new law would create a commission dedicated to conducting research on the modern effects of slavery and continued discrimination against black people and make recommendations to Congress for appropriate remedies.

The Intersection of Origins of Racial Inequity and Equity in the Workplace

An exploration of reparations formally acknowledges that institutional inequities exist and that they limit people’s ability to thrive. Many will acknowledge (and data affirms) that outcomes for African-Americans on critical indicators—salary, education, housing and health, among others, are consistently and substantially lower than for people who are white.

The Fourth Quarter 2019 report on Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers (released 1/17/2020) showed median earnings for blacks working full time at $756 weekly compared to whites at $967. The overlay of gender showed a double whammy for black women, who earned $738 weekly compared to $859 for white women. For black men it was $778 compared to $1058 weekly for white men. Home ownership, according to 2000 US Census was 71.3% for whites, compared to 46.3% for blacks.

Many well-intentioned people recognize that as a problem for society, while shrugging their shoulders as to how we got here. “It is as though we have run up a credit-card bill and, having pledged to charge no more, remain befuddled that the balance does not disappear,” said Ta-Nehisi Coates in his article The Case for Reparations. “The effects of that balance, interest accruing daily, are all around us.”

The Direct Line from 1619 to 2019

With the growth of AI, data and algorithms, it’s only a matter of time before there is a way to mathematically show a straight line from the arrival of the first black slaves to the colonies in 1619 to the societal inequity for blacks in the US today. That equation will start with 250 years of slavery. It will add the Homestead Act of 1862 that gave free land west of the Mississippi, only to whites; it will account for the Civil War and the Jim Crow laws that followed. This equation will multiply implications of the Fair Housing Administration that built white suburbs while redlining and blocking home ownership in black neighborhoods.

This model will go on to apply Roosevelt’s New Deal that gave jobs to whites while precluding them for African-Americans, GI bill that didn’t apply to blacks because they couldn’t get mortgages in black/redlined neighborhoods and the Social Security law that originally didn’t apply to domestic and other jobs held primarily by African Americans, and more.  (Redlining was not officially outlawed until 1968, by the Fair Housing Act. A recent Federal Reserve study examined those neighborhoods and correlated them with present disinvestment and decline.)

Whether it’s a government commission or the perfect AI predictive algorithm, there soon will be no way to deny the impact of the history of slavery and of institutional government policies since then that have exacerbated the divide and perpetuated racial discrimination.

How does this connect to equity in the workplace?

The field of Diversity & Inclusion continues to evolve with more and more companies asking for training around equity. (Read more on the difference of the three terms here.) Equity acknowledges that the playing field is not even, that the starting line for the road to success is different for each runner and is influenced by race, gender, age, ability and socio-economic status among other factors.

In relation to the workplace, it is not about placing guilt on individual white people or as an excuse for not succeeding for individual black people. But it does say that 400 years of slavery and its legacy has limited black communities’ ability to succeed.

For businesses, accepting that truth can help frame your strategy and communications in a way that can make a difference.

Here are three tactics to get started:

1. Accept that institutional inequity exists.

Examine your own policies to ensure they are applied equitably (which doesn’t necessarily mean the same in every situation—individuals have different needs).

2. Grow and support your supplier diversity program.

Create a process that gives an even playing field to businesses of different sizes and longevity. Set goals for working with Minority Owned Business Enterprises (MBE’s). Offer workshops and trainings as a bonus to prospective suppliers to help them grow.

3. Invest in resource-impoverished communities.

Open a store there. Adopt the local school. Have teams of employee volunteers paint the community center. Apply your equity strategy to your corporate giving and sponsorship decisions.

And, of course, pay your employees the same salary for the same or comparable work. Create environments where everyone has the opportunity to do their best work and get recognized for it.

Educate yourself

There is a lot of very thorough, researched information on this topic with everything from how a bill becomes a law (Schoolhouse Rock!) to deeper insights into how public policy has framed social and economic inequity over time.

Know of other great resources? Please share them in the comments. And if you need help getting started, whether its coaching on how to talk about difficult subjects or launch a company equity strategy, we are your partner every step of the way.  Click here for help.

Aaronson, Daniel et al, The Effects of the 1930s HOLC “Redlining” Maps (REVISED February 2019). Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Accessed February 25, 2020 https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/working-papers/2017/wp2017-12

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers, Fourth Quarter 2019. Accessed February 25, 2020. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf

Cashin, Sheryll, Reparations for slavery aren’t enough. Official racism lasted much longer. The Washington Post, June 21, 2019; Accessed February 10, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/reparations-for-slavery-arent-enough-official-racism-lasted-much-longer/2019/06/21/2c0ecbe8-9397-11e9-aadb-74e6b2b46f6a_story.html

Clark, Alexis, Tulsa’s ‘Black Wall Street’ Flourished as a Self-Contained Hub in Early 1900s. History.com, September 4, 2019; updated January 2, 2020. Accessed February 25, 2020. https://www.history.com/news/black-wall-street-tulsa-race-massacre

Coates, Ta-Nehisi, The Case for Reparations. The Atlantic, June 2014. Accessed February 25, 2020. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/

GovTrak, H.R. 40: Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act. Accessed February 25, 2020.  https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/116/hr40

Jan, Tracy, Reparations, rebranded. The Washington Post, February 24, 2020. Accessed February 25, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/02/24/reparations-south-carolina-clyburn/?arc404=true

Schoolhouse Rock, America: I’m Just a Bill. Accessed February 23, 2020 https://youtu.be/FFroMQlKiag

Stolberg, Sheryl Gay, At Historic Hearing, House Panel Explores Reparations. The New York Times, June 19, 2019. Accessed February 25, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/19/us/politics/slavery-reparations-hearing.html

United States Census Bureau, Historical Census of Housing Tables:  Homeownership by Race and Hispanic Origin. Accessed February 25, 2020. https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/census/historic/ownershipbyrace.html

Younis, Mohamed, As Redress for Slavery, Americans Oppose Cash Reparations. Gallup, July 29, 2019. Accessed February 25, 2020. https://news.gallup.com/poll/261722/redress-slavery-americans-oppose-cash-reparations.aspx