Known for his work in the courtroom and the classroom, Harvard Law School’s Charles J. Ogletree Jr. is being memorialized by the many he mentored, including former President Barack and first lady Michelle Obama. One of his students, civil rights attorney Areva Martin, was particularly inspired by his work to restore the justice historically denied to so many, including the victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.

Martin represents more than 700 survivors and descendants of Palm Springs Section 14 in their quest for reparations after their community was racially targeted, burned out and bulldozed by the city of Palm Springs, Calif., in the 1950s and 60s. In this episode of “Equal Time,” Martin, an author, activist, attorney and media personality, joins Mary C. Curtis in a conversation some Americans would rather avoid. Is resolving America’s unpaid debt to many of its citizens necessary before the country can move forward?