Natasha Marin, a 37-year old Seattle-based conceptual artist, has launched a website called Reparations aimed at helping to solve social injustice.

As Marin said, the site encourages sharing by exploring “white privilege”. People of Color can request for any kind of assistance so as to feel better and happier and White people can offer any kind of help in response to the request to offset their privilege.

The initiative is meant to inspire White people to meditate on the lived realities of whiteness.

Therapy, tuition assistance, Yoga, crisis intervention, and financial help are some services exchanged through Reparations.

Reparations started as a modest Facebook project in July, 2016 before developing into a full-blown website that attracts more than 1000 visitors per day.

It has earned recognition worldwide for its bold approach to race relations. Requests and offers do not only come from the U.S but also other countries such as New Zealand and Britain.

Marin’s initiative has sparked different reactions. While some people appreciate it as a way of working together to solve racial injustice, others think it is racially divisive and aimed at exploiting white liberal guilt.

They think it is a way of pushing white people to pay for putting Black People hundreds of years of slavery. Since the site was launched, Marin has received all sorts of racist comments and even death threats.

However, Marin has defended the forum.

She clarified that it aims at solving current-day discrimination and oppression of Black People and it is not about paying for slavery. She has also come up with a “troll fund” to counteract the racist trolls in a productive way.

“Toll Slayers”, who are simply site users, donate $1 for each negative post on the site. The fund is used to offer financial assistance to those who request it.

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