While it seems unlikely that the federal government will pay slavery reparations to African-Americans in the near future, some blacks have already received reparations from state governments for other past racial injustices. Between 1874 and the 1940s, more than 40 race riots broke out across the U.S., most of which caused considerable harm to Africans and their descendents. The victims of some of these riots are still living, and many have sought reparations for the emotional and physical suffering that they were subject to.
Recently, Florida and Oklahoma have set important precedents by granting reparations to victims of race riots within their states. In 1994, Florida voted to give $2 million in compensation to the survivors of a 1923 race riot in Rosewood, Fla. In addition, a commission in Oklahoma recently recommended that the state pay reparations to the victims of the 1921 Tulsa, Okla. race riot. That recommendation is significant because the Tulsa riot is widely considered one of the w
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