How Selective Empathy Deprives Black Americans of Restorative Justice

Historically speaking, the United States has not been opposed to restorative justice. For instance, in 1862, President Lincoln signed a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia through the Compensated Emancipation Act, which also guaranteed slave owners would receive financial restitution for their "<a href="https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/dc-emancipation-act" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">loss of property</a>." This policy, while effective at enticing the release of nearly three thousand enslaved people, did not address the injustices of the chattel slavery system. Despite enslaved people suffering the worst indignities imaginable, the government failed to provide newly freed Black Americans or their descendants with any means of restorative justice. One could argue that this is a case of racially selective empathy, just one example of the government turning a blind eye to Black Americans' legitimate claims for restorative justice. <a href="https://medium.com/the-antagonist-magazine/how-selective-empathy-deprives-black-americans-of-restorative-justice-a31bdbf6fe4d">Click Here</a>