Private Law Theory

INTRODUCTION
America should pay reparations for slavery. The debt is long overdue. Reparations were ripe in 1619 when pirates dragged enslaved Africans ashore at Jamestown. Instead of liberating their fellow children of God, pilgrims ‘bought’ these Africans and held them in bondage. The debt for their labor was long overdue by 1625 when enslaved Africans began building New York City. The debt burgeoned. By 1690, all British North American colonies held enslaved Africans. In 1776, our new nation declared as self-evident truths that all men are created equal and that their Creator gave them unalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Then, we the people promptly broke these promises …

Potts, Brian C, A Simple Case for Slavery Reparations: Title to Slavery’s Fruits Did Not Pass, University of Baltimore Law Review volume 54 issue 3, article 2(2025).