The raging national debate over reparations for slavery and its aftermath is proof of Faulkner’s insight that “the past is never dead. It’s not even past.” It has been a hot topic among 2020 presidential candidates. Some, like Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), have supported payments, while others, like South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, have reserved on the issue of cash transfers while advocating steps to address persistent racial inequities.
The debate also touches a deeper truth about contrition, rooted in religious and moral traditions. According to the Bible, “whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”
The fact that the debate is intensifying, not waning, 154 years after the Civil War ended is a sign of moral turbulence that must be addressed. There seems to be a twinge of conscience that troubles us even with the passing of time.
