Conceptual artist Nathasha Marin recently launched a website called "Reparations," designed for the specific purpose of having white people make "offerings" and fulfill the "requests" of people of color.
"What if you actually did something meaningful for someone before the end of the year?" Marin explains on the site's "about" page. "What if a stranger restored your belief in humanity, if only for a moment, by supporting you and allowing you to claim something you need in a material way? I invite People of Color to ask for what we need to feel better, be happier, be more productive by posting in this space. These may be both material and immaterial requests. I invite people who identify as White to offer services or contributions to People of Color in need of time, energy, substantive care, and support."
Look, I'm all for sites which allow people to offer their services to those in need. We should always show generosity to our fellow human beings. However, I don't really see why it's so necessary to divide the giving and receiving along racial lines. There are plenty of white people who desparately need help, as well as many people of color with the resources to offer assistance. Would it be so wrong for a white person to submit a request? Additionally, Marin doesn't even define what these "reparations" are supposed to be for, whether they be for America's history of slavery or for the abstract concept of white privilege.
Marin does admit, "I don't want to put limitations on this social experiment," then goes on to list seven examples of how she envisions her project working, with only people of color getting help from exclusively white conterparts. Here's one of her hypothetical scenarios:
Why does the white person need to specify that they have been "quietly hating" themselves? Shouldn't someone do something nice for someone else out of the kindness of their hearts, not because they feel guilted into it? Again, everyone should be generous to everyone else who they see hurting or struggling, regardless of race.
"Reparations" originally launched as a Facebook event July 15, and is now scheduled to run through the end of the year. Hopefully the project expands beyond Marin's original intentions and becomes a space for anyone of any background to seek help or offer support.