‘Couch 2024’: Some Pro-Reparations Activists Are Encouraging Black Voters to Stay Home

Supporters of reparations are split over whether to work with Democrats or to stick this election out without substantial action from President Joe Biden.

A man wears a "Support Reparations" button.
President Joe Biden previously voiced support for studying reparations, but hasn’t discussed the issue much since. Eric Risberg/AP

Some Black activists think voters should stay home this November if President Joe Biden doesn’t make a substantial push for reparations — even if that means former President Donald Trump is elected instead.

But they’re at odds with others who warn that Democrats offer their best chance at enacting policy that pays back the descendants of enslaved people.

“A Trump presidency would set us far back in regards to reparations,” one House staffer involved in reparations advocacy told NOTUS. “The lines of communication are very much open with the Biden administration thus far. They’ve been listening to advocates and leaders in Congress on the urgent need for this stuff.”