A time to start repairing

I recently read the thoughtful and inspiring piece that Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote in the Atlantic regarding his reversal on the concept of reparations for the African-American community.  Although I agree wholeheartedly with his arguments in that article and a subsequent defense, I write not to argue the merits of the case, but rather to offer a potential piece of the solution.  As Coates' article points out, governments and pillagers used housing as a way to extract wealth from the African-American community throughout most of the 20th century.  In order to begin to recognize this harm and make amends, I propose that we truly make the cost of living easier for those due these reparations...

Pay their energy bill for the duration of their time in the building.

The most optimal form this would take would include permanent installations of renewable energy systems and energy efficiency technology.  Although we can easily set up a trust from which regular distributions would pay for energy bills, we would soon find it much more lucrative to use the fund to invest in eliminating (or nearly eliminating) the energy bill altogether.  This would have three primary benefits to the African-American community:

First, it would provide relief to the resident.  For homeowners, it would immediately reduce the cost of ownership, freeing up resources to ease the cost of living and to allow for savings and future investment.  For renters, as long as the process included the proper oversight, it would mean immediate relief in out of pocket expenses.

Second, it would create value in the community.  Buildings that use little energy and have renewable energy improvements have greater value than those without.  In addition, extending the opportunity to all black-owned buildings would incentivize the movement of capital to black-owned buildings.  This could provide an opportunity for some communities to fight off gentrification by encouraging black investors to take advantage of the opportunities in real estate.  When selling these buildings, those black owners can receive a greater return, and use the marketplace to their financial benefit.

Third, it would provide several ancillary opportunities to increase capital flows into the black community.  Fearing the inefficiency of governmental program management, the funds that provide the capital for this program would best use community cooperatives to manage the development of energy assets.  The community would then set the parameters for which technologies get adopted, who performs the work, and how the profits get invested and dividends get distributed.  These cooperatives can make sure that local contractors and businesses get the opportunity to do the work, that local community members get the opportunity to invest, and that capital flows to manufacturing jobs that maximize the return to those for whom the reparations are intended.

We have debated the case for reparations for over a century, and will continue to do so for a long time to come.  In the meanwhile, we have the opportunity to start recognizing that we as a country have taken wealth from one race to the benefit of others.  This is not a chance occurrence, but one specifically executed by our society for hundreds of years.  Investing in the clean energy and energy efficiency can improve quality of life, and in this case, can begin to heal the wounds that 300 years of racism have inflicted.  More importantly, it respects those who receive the benefit, because it trusts them to turn the investment into permanent wealth.  Lastly, it provides the tools to end the erosion of communities so that we might finally deliver on the promise that all are created equal.