The Baltimore Model of Community Controlled Reparations

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Over the past decade, reparations have shifted from a fringe issue championed by Black nationalists to a mainstream topic in Democratic and nonprofit circles.

In Baltimore, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS) has advanced a reparations agenda rooted in Black community control, challenging assumptions of the broader movement. LBS Director of Research, Lawrence Grandpre, interviews Director of Public Policy, Dayvon Love, about his Nonprofit Quarterly article advocating for reparations centered on building Black institutional capacity and political power, inspired by John Henrik Clarke’s concept of “nation management.”

Dayvon connects this approach to LBS’s work using cannabis tax revenue in Maryland to pursue reparations for the War on Drugs. They critique the national focus on cash payments and nonprofit-led efforts, arguing these reflect both racist fears of Black public money management and an internalized belief that Black advancement requires white validation. This stance, they assert, contradicts the Black nationalist reparations tradition aimed at transferring power to Black communities.

Finally, they highlight political victories in Baltimore as evidence that Black communities can achieve meaningful reparations without sacrificing community control.

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In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).

The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)