Author ORCID Identifier
Date Available
12-13-2027
Year of Publication
2025
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College
Education
Department/School/Program
Education Sciences
Faculty
Eric T. Weber
Faculty
Eric Thomas
Faculty
Arnold Farr
Abstract
This dissertation argues that American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS)—a distinct ethnic group tracing lineage to U.S. chattel slavery—are owed reparations in higher education to address systemic, epistemic and material harms. Grounded in Miranda Fricker’s theory of epistemic injustice, the study demonstrates how ADOS face hermeneutical injustice (interpretive erasure): their unique historical narrative is obscured by the homogenizing of the “Black/African American” racial category
The Ethics of Care (EOC) framework is fused with epistemic justice to propose “care-centered reparations” model, prioritizing relational accountability and institutional responsiveness. Case studies of the University of Virginia’s Enslaved Ancestors Scholarship and the University of California system’s Native American Opportunity Plan (NAOP) demonstrate how lineage-based and political-status models succeed when co-designed with affected communities. Colorblind critics of race-conscious policies argue that such policies are proxies for race, yet this study counters this assertion through Justice Thomas’ “traceable harm” standard in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023) case. Thomas’ argument is used as a legal foundation for an ADOS-specific redress in higher education. The dissertation culminates in a roadmap for federal reparations, including debt-free college and preferable admissions considerations.
The research ends with calls for changes to H.R. 40 (the reparations study bill), amendments to SPD 15 (Statistical Policy Directive) to recognize ADOS as a distinct ethnicity and changes to college admissions applications that allow one to indicate descendant status. Federal reparations emerge as a restorative measure for stolen opportunity, linking narrative sovereignty to economic equity.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2025.617
Recommended Citation
Murray, James E. Jr., "The Ethics of Care for Epistemic and Reparative Justice: Favorable Admissions Considerations and a Debt-Free College Experience for American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS)" (2025). Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences. 156.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/edsc_etds/156
