Marianne Williamson, author of 12 books and what some might call a spiritual guru, pleasantly surprised a lot of viewers during Tuesday night’s Democratic debate. Williamson has a shaky record on all things science—there are numerous examples of her using, at best, fuzzy language when it comes to vaccines and mental health—and isn’t close to the top of the line when it comes to detailed, practical policy proposals.
To be fair: She has said that she’s misspoken about vaccines, but many still see her as pro-woo and anti-science. Given that she’s polling very, very low, most (outside of probably ironic Twitter fans) don’t see her as a serious contender. Her response to a question about slavery reparations, though, is worth discussing.
While Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris and former Housing Secretary Julián Castro have openly endorsed some form of reparations, many running for the nomination aren’t onboard. Sen. Bernie Sanders, perhaps surprising to some, is against reparations, his logic being that there are better ways to address racial inequality.
In specifics, Williamson said she supports between $200 billion and $500 billion in reparations for slavery on the basis of its institutional injustices. She pulled out some numbers on the debate stage, asserting, “If you did the math of the 40 acres and a mule, given that there were 4 to 5 million slaves at the end of the Civil War, it would be trillions of dollars, and I believe that anything less than $100 billion is an insult.”
When moderator Don Lemon described the $500 billion as “financial assistance,” Williamson gave perhaps her biggest one-liner of the night, calling reparations “a debt that is owed.”
This wasn’t just off the cuff, either: She has a proposal (called Racial Reconciliation & Healing) that details the same response on her website.
You can check out the full clip below, as well as a transcription.
Don Lemon: Many of your opponents support a commission to study the issue of reparations for slavery. But you are calling for up to $500 billion in financial assistance. What makes you qualified to determine how much is owed in reparations?
Marianne Williamson: Well, first of all, it’s not $500 billion in financial assistance. It’s a $200 to $500 billion payment of a debt that is owed. That is what reparations is. We need some deep truth-telling when it comes. We don’t need another commission to look at evidence. I appreciate what Congressman O’Rourke has said. It is time for us to simply realize that this country will not heal. All that a country is is a collection of people. People heal when there is some deep truth-telling.
We need to realize that when it comes to the economic gap between blacks and whites in America, it does come from a great injustice that has never been dealt with.
That great injustice has to do with the fact there were 250 years of slavery followed by another 100 years of domestic terrorism. What makes me qualified to say $200 to $500 billion? I’ll tell you what makes me qualified. If you did the math of the 40 acres and a mule, given that there were 4 to 5 million slaves at the end of the Civil War—they were all promised 40 acres and a mule for a family of four.
If you did the math today it would be trillions of dollars. And I believe that anything less than $100 billion is an insult, and I believe that $200 to $500 billion is politically feasible today, because so many Americans realize there is an injustice that continues to form a toxicity underneath the surface.
Williamson is known for a lot of things—crystals and woo among them. But the country does need to talk about reparations, and not in terms of a “handout.” It’s a debt that is owed, and if her language on the stage pushes other candidates in the right direction, that’s a good thing.