During the July 2019 Democratic primary debate, candidate Marianne Williamson argued that reparations are a debt owed rather than financial assistance. Williamson proposed a payment of $200 to $500 billion, citing the unfulfilled promise of 40 acres and a mule for the four to five million slaves freed after the Civil War. She corrected moderator Don Lemon on the terminology, insisting that anything less than $100 billion would be an insult to the descendants of slaves.