Yet when the topic of reparations is raised, people can think of a thousand reasons that is not possible. Image Samuel M. Lemon's maternal great-great-grandmother, Martha Jane Parham, circa 1860. CreditMy maternal ancestors were runaway slaves from neighboring plantations in Virginia. As Mr. Brooks so insightfully wrote, this is a tragic and painful part of the American experience that is not shared by other ethnic groups. Samuel M. LemonMedia, Pa.To the Editor:I am an 80-year-old middle-class white woman, and David Brooks made me cry today. For most of my adult life I have believed that America owes reparations to African-Americans.

Source: New York Times March 16, 2019 16:52 UTC