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Black Lives Matter recently included reparations in a list of demands to improve the lives of people of color.

In their new proposed agenda, BLM seeks reparations, like free schooling and guaranteed income, for lasting harms caused to Black people by slavery.

Marin, a native of Trinidad, isn't affiliated with BLM, but tells The Los Angeles Times that she supports the organization 

"I never actually intended to have any kind of commentary for reparations on American slavery," Marin said. The site is intended to address race relations."

Racial tensions have always existed in the United States, but it reached new heights after George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, the police shot Mike Brown, and hundreds of other Black people were killed by officers and vigilantes. 

It may be time for the government to consider giving reparations.

PBS NewsHour race relations graph
photo: Screenshot from PBS NewsHour

In 1988, president Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act, which compensated more than 100,000 people of Japanese descent who were incarcerated in internment camps during World War II. NPR reports Japanese-Americans received a formal apology and each surviving victim received $20,000. 

This past November, the Department of State began accepting applications to compensate certain victims of Holocaust-related deportations. About 100 non-French survivors could receive more than $100,000 each, according to The Los Angeles Times.

"The agreement is another measure of justice to help those who suffered for the harms of one of history's darkest eras," Stuart Eizenstat, a Washington lawyer and former diplomat, said about the U.S.-France agreement.

Yet, Black Americans haven't received a dime for being enslaved.

Earlier this year, a United Nations panel said the government must pay reparations to the descendants of Africans who were brought to the U.S. as slaves. The committee said slavery is the reason for the plight of African-Americans today. 

No amount of money or service will erase this historical damage, but at least the Reparations site is proof that humanity is capable of kindness.