Last month, the House Judiciary Committee voted to advance H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act. This bill was first proposed more than 30 years ago but never gained any real traction until now.

Reparations for slavery are destined to be one of the more polarizing issues of our time. There are two overarching questions to address. The first question is whether reparations are owed. It would seem difficult to contest the claim that uncompensated slave labor conferred substantial wealth on slave owners and possibly their beneficiaries. Assuming the first question is answered in the affirmative, the second question is one of forensic accounting: Who should be paid reparations, how much should they be paid, and by whom?