Better Than Reparations: Lessons U.S. of America Learned in 2025
- BDRE
- 12 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Throughout this platform, you may notice the gap of blogs from 2024 to 2025. That is due to the developments of the entire country and the documentation needed to cover it. From a personal perspective, the author of this essay series is appreciative of the journey. Readers are encouraged to apply information to their own lives and professions to educate and encourage colleagues. Through DEI removals and reductions, funding decreasing actions, information scrambling, and discourse sown amongst the public, the country experienced 2025 in a very unique fashion. Remember that this piece is here to shape the future through policy and healing. Just like James Hatley reached out to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939, the author followed her great-great uncle’s footsteps and reached out to federal authority for understanding of the civilian's experience this year of 2025. Specifically through the police system, before the National Guard was sent to various cities in the country – including Memphis, the author sent a letter and received a response from President Donald J. Trump about unrighteous actions of law enforcement caused by prejudice. That letter and response are included in this blog along with the journey documented through the essay series.
So how is this series and documented experience better than reparations? It is evident, especially after 2025, that reparations for formerly enslaved lineages will be a strain to receive as due justice after all this time. Organizations like Black Reparations Project with Civil Rights and Restorative Justice at Northeastern University of Law are working legally to achieve reparations for individuals and families who were affected by prejudice after slavery, and they still face resistance. This organization and glomoration was able to provide something better than reparations for the Hatley family, shared by a descendant – the author of this series and blog.
What does this mean for you and your organization? How can your family benefit? By reaching out and exploring the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice platform, you can review and research their work and see how it can be applied to your life. “By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow’s Legal Executioners” by Professor Margaret A. Burnham – co-founder of Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive – is just one of the many resources to better understand that gaining an understanding of history is how reparations truly are achieved. By understanding and applying the information discovered, the resources shared can assist every Black American in the entire country, particularly those of slave descent. Why does this matter in 2025? Well, why did we have DEI in the first place? Understand that so much information is still hidden from Afro Americans that it is absolutely necessary to express and share for comprehension levels to increase – for Black Americans to gain a true sense of self.
Throughout this blog, notice the correlations, confirmations, and synchronicities with your own life. Notice the symbolism in photos and videos shared. See how the shared resources can benefit you, your business, and your family. Schools and religious organizations can benefit most from these resources for educational purposes.
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Better than reparations???
What could be better than reparations regarding an Afro American family? In 2024, the answers to questions asked for decades finally came to the surface; a mysterious death in the family at the hands of the government and covered by the same entity.There are many stories about Afro American families who lose family members due to racism, especially in the slavery, Jim Crow, and Civil Rights Movement Eras. Rarely are these deaths well documented and acknowledged for the purpose of learning a more humane way of life. My great-grandfather, Phillip Hatley, has the story for generations to learn from.
Better Than Reparations: Solving of a Mystery Haunting an American Bloodline
Tiara Elise Hatley
Marine Flow Blog
Social Studies: Humanities, African American History (Phillip Hatley)
January 19, 2025; 1/19/2025
It’s been a wild ride.
The discovery of the lost files hidden about Phillip Hatley have truly awakened a different side of everyone involved. The gratitude one must feel for finally understanding the storyline rather than a vague fact with no details or clarity must be beyond measure. While most essays written are from a third person perspective, I will be speaking in first person as I am a great granddaughter of Phillip and Willie Mae Hatley. My family will also be showcased here in this series as I interviewed them along with podcaster Professor Laura Faith Kebede with University of Memphis’ Civil Wrongs Podcast in partnership with WKNO. Interviewing my family always made sense as I have always had some sort of platform to speak for myself in various forms — my own podcast episodes, my Instagram and YouTube livestreams, and my writing work before starting the Flow Blog.
Better Than Reparations: Exploring the Descendant Minds of Phillip Hatley (pt. 1)
Tiara Elise Hatley
Marine Flow Blog
History; Humanities, Grieving and Communication
April 8, 2025; 4/8/2025
Grief causes issues.
I have experience with this knowledge as my maternal side of the family struggles to this day to agree upon the use of our inheritance. This is not something I am unfamiliar with, however, it tends to always be something to catch an individual off-guard when it shows up. Grief is not an issue we discussed much on my paternal side, my lineage from Phillip Hatley. Now that this situation is prevalent in our lives – the discovery itself, backing from organizations seeking reparations on our behalf, public recognition on many fronts – it is something that we have to face head on as things progress. I mentioned before in another part of the series that everything has been great with hiccups in the midst.
Better Than Reparations: Exploring the Descendant Minds of Phillip Hatley (pt. 2)
Tiara Elise Hatley
Marine Flow Blog
History: Humanities, Grieving and Communication
October 20, 2025; 10/20/2025
Time Travel.
It has always seemed like an impossible ability or event, however, what you are doing right now is time travel. Whenever we read or watch something from the past (which is always) we are traveling back to the time the original content was created. Physically being in the space may not happen for everyone, but many experience that or similar to it. Have you ever heard of generational trauma? What about curses?
Better Than Reparations: The Mind of Willie Mae’s Progeny
Tiara Elise Hatley
Marine Flow Blog
Social Studies: Humanities, African American History (Willie Mae Hatley)
May 5, 2025; 5/5/2025
DEFUND THE POLICE!!!
Absolutely not, ha. After 2025, we as the Hatley family would like for law enforcement to work as effectively as possible for the good of the public. Does that mean defunding? No. It means allocating funding to the proper areas of training to decrease — and eventually erase — what is called “implicit bias” in legal systems. “Implicit bias has been shown to affect the decision making processes of both Caucasian and African American individuals,” says Dr. Jillian Whatley of Jillian Whatley and Associates from Atlanta, Georgia. “Dr. Whatley's Implicit Bias workshop focuses on self awareness,” she continues, “while also assisting the organization in understanding the possible impact of implicit bias on the historical decision making processes of the organization.” We were able to virtually meet Dr. Whatley during the formation of the “Say Their Names Monuments Juneteenth” event held on June 21st.
Better Than Reparations: The Results of Resurrected History and Her-Story
Tiara Elise Hatley
Marine Flow Blog
Social Studies: Humanities, Politics, Social Justice
September 7, 2025; 9/7/2025
You can get the full blog series to add to your curricula and references of study here
You can get access to the bundle through a Rhodium membership (along with other AI enhanced essays) while the option to get every original essay separately is available through a Palladium membership. Otherwise, you can get the entire series above for $1,111 rather than $1,333.23 by getting the bundle deal instead of purchasing each individual work directly.
See how your organization can pivot from DEI dependency here
To conclude this blog, resources are being shared for you and your team to research, apply, and utilize for the future. It is extensive and detailed for the purpose of ease and removal of confusion. Take time to look over any resources that can be applied to your organization or family. You are encouraged to professionally apply these resources, as DEI has been placed on the back-burner professionally. This will assist in pivoting missions for proper success.
To view photos of the “Say Their Names Monuments Juneteenth Celebration,” learn more about the Hatley family from Daryle’s lineage, and sign up to the newsletter and email list for updates about the upcoming biography – written by Daryle’s children – & theatrical performance, and to reach this family, check out their family organization website philliphatley.org
To observe the Phillip Hatley Foundation founded by Solomon, visit philliphatleyfoundation.org
Visit Say Their Names Monuments website for information on victims of police violence here saytheirnamesmonuments.com and support the platform here https://saytheirnamesmonuments.com/about-us
Observe the Black Lives Matter Grassroots Memphis platform at blmgrassrootsmemphis.com and support the platform here blmgrassrootsmemphis.com/donate
Listen to the Civil Wrongs Podcast by Institute for Public Service Reporting at University of Memphis https://www.psrmemphis.org/civil-wrongs-podcasts/undue-process/
Listen to the WKNO-FM version https://www.wknofm.org/news-and-features/2025-10-15/civil-wrongs-the-killer-wore-a-badge-part-2
Learn about Lynching Sites Project here https://lynchingsitesmem.org/
Discover the Black Reparations Project here https://crrj.org/efforts/crrj-federal-reparations-project-launched-at-nu-mills-conference-in-oakland-ca/
Learn from the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project https://crrj.org/efforts/spring-clinic-grand-rounds-2024/
Review actions at Northeastern University School of Law https://law.northeastern.edu/academics/centers/clear/
Learn more about Dr. Margaret Burnham's work at Northeastern University School of Law
Here are a few articles by these various organizations to gain more insight on this project and process specifically. This year has been fully jam-packed, and the writers have done a great job of documenting the progress!
May the City of Memphis apply this information into the records for the purpose of increasing the quality of the city!
Daily Memphian “Ceremony remembers those killed by Memphis police” https://dailymemphian.com/section/metropublic-safety/article/52633/ceremony-held-saturday-for-those-killed-by-memphis
Institute for Public Service Reporting “”Say Their Names” Event is Tomorrow” https://myemail.constantcontact.com/-Say-Their-Names--Event-Is-Tomorrow.html?soid=1133241792667&aid=zU-NR9EW9Vk , “Reflecting on Season 6 of Civil Wrongs” https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Reflecting-on-Season-6-of-Civil-Wrongs.html?soid=1133241792667&aid=lRjWcbNLoYo
Civil Rights and Restorative Justice, Northeastern University School of Law “New Season of Civil Wrongs Podcast Centers on Tennessee Killing Investigated by CRRJ” https://crrj.org/efforts/new-season-of-civil-wrongs-podcast-centers-on-tennessee-killing-investigated-by-crrj/
Here are photos provided by Family Man Enterprises
Here are photos provided by Ariel Cobbert
Here are photos provided by Ziggy Mack
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