I am NOT supporting Keyes on this because he apparently doesn't care what the opinions of others are. Now if he had to be on FR to read what people write here sometimes, I'd bet he'd realize what a racially polarizing thing reparations is.
The problem is that this is the issue that's going to stick in people's minds: "Oh, he's the guy that wants reparations...." Keyes doesn't have much time to get out his other issues, and this is the issue that just about every news reporter is going to bring up with him, when he goes out of the greater Chicagoland area, IF he does start campaigning downstate.
He's going to be known as the "reparations" candidate.