answer:First, we (the citizens of the US)owe them nothing. If anyone owes anything, it is the descendants of the slave owners (i.e. Thomas Jefferson’s great-great-great grandson). But even that is a hard case to make. Slavery was not unusual back then. WHat makes a 20th century person liable for 19th century culture? No reparations are due. And “we” in general have no obligation to “heal the wounds” of slavery. We are now siz or more generations past the time of “healing wounds”, Any slave who was alive in 1850 has been dead for 110 years. Their descendants – generation 6 or 7 – are owed nothing. Reparations and playing the ‘slavery’ card are just more of deciding, even volunteering – to be a victim. It’s a copout, and dishonest. At worst, it’s an excuse for failure.