What Polling Tells Us About the Path Forward for Reparations
In the wake of the mass protests for racial justice in 2020, reparations was one of the many issues previously relegated to the sidelines that broke into public consciousness. While reparations were often considered a pipe dream by advocates and opponents alike, recent polling data indicates a shift in public opinion, revealing a strong and growing constituency committed to comprehensive federal reparations.
At the highest level, “reparations” is the process of the state making amends for harm. While most people think of reparations simply as compensation, a wider variety of material and symbolic benefits to victims and their families are involved. As defined by the United Nations, reparations refers to measures by the government to repair violations of human rights by providing a range of material and symbolic benefits to victims or their families as well as affected communities. Reparations for Black Americans applies the UN reparations framework to the human rights violations of slavery and its legacies, including racial violence, Jim Crow, and discrimination. This application includes Reckoning, Acknowledgement, Accountability/Cessation, and Redress.
The support for comprehensive, federal reparations is further bolstered by widespread backing for related measures such as criminal justice reform, education about slavery, and investments in Black communities. However, despite this progress, significant challenges remain. Many Americans are skeptical about the likelihood of reparations ever being implemented, underscoring the need for strategic communication and advocacy to transform growing support into concrete action.
A Core Constituency Committed to Reparations
Our 2024 Reparations Beliefs and Sentiments Poll reveals that comprehensive federal reparations, including direct payments, have substantial support among the American public. 36% of Americans support comprehensive reparations that include an apology, payments, scholarships, healing services, and other resources for Black Americans.
Reparations is on the trajectory of other successful social movements, which saw gradual increases in public support over time before reaching a majority consensus. In 1999, when California became the first state to legalize domestic partnerships for same-sex couples, support for same-sex marriage was 35% — roughly where support for comprehensive reparations is today. Just 12 years later, marriage equality reached 50% support. Support for marijuana legalization grew even more quickly. In 2005 — as medical legalization was beginning to gain traction — support for recreational marijuana legalization was at just 36%. By 2011, when the first states passed legalization, support was at 50%.
While such timelines are ambitious, previous analyses highlight a similar upward trend in the reparations movement. Support for cash payment reparations — the most controversial element of reparations — has doubled in the last 25 years, reaching at least 30% in the last few years.
Additionally, 19% of Americans neither support nor oppose reparations, indicating a significant neutral or persuadable population. Said another way: more Americans support or are neutral about comprehensive reparations than are opposed.
Key Components Garnering Broad Support
Key elements of reparations also have widespread backing. Measures such as criminal justice reform, education about slavery, and investments in Black communities have more than 60% support.
However, support for a federal apology or commission is notably lower. Preliminary audience research into this statistic suggests that even some supporters of comprehensive reparations perceive an apology as insufficient or insulting, in part because they have historically been used to avoid taking further compensatory measures for Black Americans (e.g., in the case of Congress’s 2009 apology for slavery).
Efforts to increase support for apology and a reparations commission must address the underlying belief that progress is best achieved by focusing on future equality rather than rectifying past injustices. Most people believe that the way to realize a better future is to focus on what is ahead of us, rather than reckoning with and repairing harms from our past. (Link to Attitudes Toward Repair deep dive).That’s why it’s important for advocates of more comprehensive reparations to amplify the criteria needed to do both: reckoning, acknowledgement, accountability, AND redress.
Understanding Our Supporters
Young people express the strongest support for reparations, with nearly 50% of people between the ages of 18–35 expressing support. Support falls for each subsequent age group.
Conversely, support is similar across income and educational attainment. This is inconsistent with findings that educational attainment is strongly correlated with partisanship.
Among Black supporters, age still plays some role in mediating support, though far less so than across the national population. Conversely, Black support by income varies more than across the national population.
Despite these encouraging trends in support, there is a persistent skepticism about the likelihood of reparations being implemented. Despite growing support for reparations, currently, 52% of Americans do not believe the US will ever pass reparations legislation. This highlights the need for the movement to effectively communicate progress and build broader public confidence in the feasibility of reparations.
Conclusion: A Call to Action
The increasing support for reparations and the active role of non-governmental institutions in racial repair efforts signal a pivotal moment in the fight for racial justice. To sustain and amplify this momentum, it is imperative to continue advocating for comprehensive reparations, engaging persuadable populations, and addressing barriers to broader support.
The path forward requires a multifaceted approach that combines public sector initiatives with the innovative and committed efforts of non-governmental institutions. By doing so, we can create a more equitable future that acknowledges and rectifies the injustices of the past.