Pre-reparations Preparation: Fixing the Plumbing before Turning on the Tap

Abstract

A growing number of communities in the global African diaspora are campaigning for reparations for historical and contemporary human rights violations. While the political advocacy campaigns continue, communities which are set to receive reparations should, through a process called pre-reparations preparation, consider their current economic situation and how they may improve their circumstances with the restitution that they will receive. An integral part of pre-reparations preparation is investigating community income and expenditure. This article explores the use of the leaky bucket analogy in assessing the Black American community's financial inflows and outflows, how Black communities can use this process to plan pre- and post-payment community economic development, and why government administrators and regulators should engage in their own pre-reparations preparation.