Lineage Verification for Reparations

California just funded a $6 million study to figure out how to confirm who is a descendant of enslaved people as a first step toward possible reparations. Standing up a verification bureaucracy at scale raises questions about data sources, standards of proof, appeals, and fraud. It signals movement from symbolism to the administrative machinery needed for race‑based payouts. — Building identity‑verification infrastructure for reparations would reshape benefits administration, legal standards, and political coalitions around race and historical redress.