American colleges and universities are increasingly discussing the idea of reparations linked to their historical ties to slavery. Until now, schools have created monuments, changed building names and issued public apologies instead of providing money. But Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and two other colleges recently announced financial commitments to people whose ancestors were slaves. The year 2019 marks the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first slave, in what is now the American state of Virginia. The United States has been discussing reparations since slavery officially ended in 1865. But there is increasing attention to the slave economy wealth of American colleges and universities. Jeffrey Clinton is a student at the University of Buffalo in New York. He said he thinks colleges should admit to their historical ties to slavery. But he also thinks the federal government should take the lead on an issue that reaches well beyond higher education.
