Rematriation and Place-Based Reparations: Policies and Practices to Advance Racial Justice in Brown, Black, and Indigenous Communities

Demands for reparations to Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities are surging. There has been an increase in land-tax programs wherein non-Indigenous residents contribute to tribal governments (Ramirez, 2020), preference policies that provide housing access to residents displaced from historically Black neighborhoods (Iglesias, 2018; Thurber, Bates, Halverson, 2021), encampments to protest displacement (Ramirez, 2020), and place-keeping initiatives to preserve cultural memories in gentrifying Latinx neighborhoods (Bedoya, 2013). Many of these efforts are reparative, acknowledging harms resulting from systemic colonization and racism while investing in communities that have been displaced or disrupted. Some efforts target the regeneration of social, cultural, and civic ties damaged by systemic inequality. Others are transformational, imagining new ways for communities to live in "right relationship" with one another and the land.

After introducing emergent theoretical perspectives related to rematriation and placed-based reparation, panelists will offer case examples of how social workers are partnering with communities to study and advance reparative, regenerative and transformational place-based policies and programs:

-In Tennessee, small groups of residents participate in the Neighborhood Story Project to counter the erasure of communities of color, as well as poor and working-class residents. In this facilitated, 12-week participatory action research project, residents develop a line of inquiry about their neighborhoods, collect and analyze data, and disseminate their work. There have been nine completed projects across the state. Culminating projects include a documentary film, a historic marker, tenant organizing tools, and the creation of an African American history archive.

-In Norfolk Virginia, community activist practitioners, artists, and faith leaders leverage arts based phenomenology to embody accounts of the history of the African Diaspora in the local community from colonization, enslavement, segregation, Jim Crowe, and urban renewal. This case study recounts an applied theatre project designed to amplify experiences of youth directly impacted by urban renewal policies, and facilitated forums to engage thought leaders, provide voice for citizens, and influence local policy makers.

-In Chicago, IL, land use decision-making processes have often dispossessed and neglected the interests of Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities, thus contributing to racialized environmental health impacts, gentrification, and wealth inequality. Drawing upon interviews with community organizers and planners, this case describes experiments with Racial Equity Assessments to reduce, eliminate, and prevent these procedural and distributive injustices.

-Leaders of Buffalo, NY tout that the city is experiencing a renaissance as it attracts new investments, housing, companies, and residents. Activists and organizations have called into question whom the suggested renaissance benefits, and who is left out by the social and economic revitalization. Using embodied research methods, including oral history, walk-along interviews, and audio-visual, researchers are exploring how experiences of neighborhood change in a Buffalo neighborhood may affect residents sense of belonging. This project culminates in a public exhibit for the public to learn more about experiences of neighborhood change and belonging.

The session invites dialogue regarding the potential and limitations of place-based approaches, and explores ways for social workers to join with or seed rematriative and/or reparative place-based initiatives in their communities.