Reparations: A Christian Call for Repentance and Repair

by Duke L. Kwon

In 1954, the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education successfully challenged the legitimacy of White supremacy in public schools. In 1955, the Montgomery Improvement Association, led by Martin Luther King Jr., challenged its legitimacy in public transportation. In 1957, the Little Rock Nine challenged the legitimacy of states to obstruct federal integration law. In 1958, the NAACP Youth Council carried out a sit-in protest to challenge the legitimacy of segregated lunch counters in Kansas and Oklahoma. In 1960, student groups carried out sit-in protests in businesses across the United States. In 1961, the Freedom Riders challenged the legitimacy of segregation in interstate travel. In 1962, James Meredith challenged the legitimacy of segregated public universities. In 1963, some 250,000 people gathered in Washington, DC, to protest racial inequality at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In 1964, college students from across the country joined the Freedom Summer movement in Mississippi to challenge its legitimacy at the polls. That same year, protests in Memphis challenged the legitimacy of segregated churches. In 1965, protestors challenged White supremacy in police departments in Selma, Alabama, and Los Angeles. In 1966, King moved to Chicago to protest the role of White supremacy in housing inequality, and the Black Panther Party emerged in Los Angeles to address it. In 1967, in Loving v. Virginia the Supreme Court rejected state bans on interracial marriage...