New York Times columnist David Brooks is endorsing reparations, compensation to descendants of slaves and victims of discriminatory government policies.

In a Thursday column, Brooks admitted that nearly five years ago he disagreed with Ta-Nehisi Coates’ article in the Atlantic on “The Case for Reparations.” But Brooks, who came to the Times in 2003 as a conservative columnist, wrote he sees reparations as necessary to make amends for past and ongoing discrimination.