Marcus Anthony Hunter Author Talk and Book Signing

This event is free to attend! We would love for you to show your support and purchase the paperback copy of Marcus's book, which he will be signing after the event.

“An urgent call to action, a manifesto for justice, and a blueprint for a more equitable America. . . .It's time we confront our history head-on, and Radical Reparations provides the necessary tools.” —Congresswoman Barbara Lee

A timely groundbreaking book in the vein of Derrick Bell's Faces at the Bottom of the Well, one of the country's foremost voices on reparations, offers a radical and vital new framework going beyond the current debate over this controversial issue.

For over a century, the idea of reparations for the descendants of enslaved Black Americans has divided the United States. However, while the iconic phrase "40 acres and a mule" encapsulates the general notion of reparations, history has proven that the damages of enslavement on the African American community far exceed what a plot of land or a check could repair.

While reparations are being widely debated once again, current petitions to redress the lasting and collateral consequences of slavery have not moved past economic solutions, even though we know that monetary redress alone is not enough. Not only would many wounds be left unhealed, but relying solely on economics would continue a legacy of neglect for African Americans. In this thoughtful and sure-to-be controversial book, Marcus Anthony Hunter argues that a radical shift in our outlook is necessary; we need more comprehensive solutions such as those currently sought by today's educators, historians, activists, organizers, Afrofuturists, and socially conscious citizens.

In Radical Reparations, this conversation shifter, social justice pioneer, change agent, and inventor of the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, which redefined the global conversation on racism and social justice, offers a unifying and unconventional framework for achieving holistic and comprehensive healing of African American communities. Hunter reimagines reparations through a profound new lens as he defines seven types of compensation: political, intellectual, legal, economic, spatial, social, and spiritual, using analysis of historical documents, comparative international cases, and speculative parables.

Profound and revolutionary, trenchant and timely, Radical Reparations provides a compellingly and provocatively reframing of reparations' past, present, and future, offering a unifying way forward for us all.

Dr. Marcus Anthony Hunter is a professor of sociology and African American studies at UCLA. He is the Scott Waugh Endowed Chair in the Social Sciences. He served as the inaugural chair of UCLA's African American Studies department and previously was President of the Association of Black Sociologists. Hunter is the author of Radical Reparations: Healing the Soul of a Nation, among other titles, and co-author of Chocolate Cities: The Black Map of American Life.

Dr. David J. Johns is the chief executive officer and executive director of the National Black Justice Collective (NBJC), a civil rights organization dedicated to the empowerment of Black LGBTQ+/SGL people, including people living with HIV/AIDS. Dr. Johns was appointed the first executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans by President Obama and served from 2013-2017. Dr. Johns was a senior education policy advisor to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions under the leadership of U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and has served under the leadership of the late U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA). Dr. Johns was a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Fellow in the office of Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY). Dr. Johns earned his Ph.D. in sociology and education policy at Columbia University, and obtained a master’s degree in sociology and education policy at Teachers College, Columbia University, graduating summa cum laude. He graduated with honors from Columbia College, Columbia University in 2004 with a triple major in English, creative writing, and African American studies. Dr. Johns began his career as an elementary school educator in New York before applying the lessons learned in that space on Capitol Hill, working as a senior policy advisor to Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY) in the US House of Representatives and Senators Edward “Ted” Kennedy (D-MA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) in the US Senate, specifically the senate committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Dr. Johns received the Active Advocate Award at BET’s Black and Iconic celebration in 2024, was honored with the Bayard Rustin Advocate Award by Better Brothers Los Angeles in 2024, was named to the Out100 list in 2021, Ebony’s Power 100 in 2015, the Root100 in both 2013 and 2014, and received an early career award from Columbia University Teachers College in 2016. Dr. Johns was named to the 2025 Time Magazine Closers list of Black leaders working to end the racial wealth gap. Johns was also recognized as a 2025 Native Son honoree.