Why Reparations Isn’t Just About Money

Feb 16, 2023

Right-wing attacks on education about accurate American history continue to gain steam, particularly with respect to teaching accounts of Black history. But knowing history helps lay the groundwork for justice. Now, a new report, “A Dream in Our Name” by Liberation Ventures, examines how changing anti-Black narratives and reducing the racial wealth gap are central to the project of reparations for historical injustice.

YES! Racial Justice Editor Sonali Kolhatkar interviewed Aria Florant, co-founder and managing director of Liberation Ventures and lead author of the report, and Trevor Smith, director of narrative change at Liberation Ventures.

The views expressed here and on Rising Up With Sonali do not necessarily reflect the opinion of YES! Media.

Sonali Kolhatkar is currently the racial justice editor at YES! Media and a writing fellow with Independent Media Institute. She was previously a weekly columnist for Truthdig.com. She is also the host and creator of Rising Up with Sonali, a nationally syndicated television and radio program airing on Free Speech TV and dozens of independent and community radio stations. Sonali won First Place at the Los Angeles Press Club Annual Awards for Best Election Commentary in 2016. She also won numerous awards including Best TV Anchor from the LA Press Club and has also been nominated as Best Radio Anchor 4 years in a row. She is the author of Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence, and the co-director of the nonprofit group, Afghan Women's Mission. Her forthcoming book is Rising Up: The Power of Narrative in Pursuing Racial Justice (City Lights, 2023). She has a Master’s in Astronomy from the University of Hawai’i, and two undergraduate degrees in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin. She reflects on her professional path in her 2014 TEDx talk, “My Journey From Astrophysicist to Radio Host.” She can be reached at sonalikolhatkar.com