Finance News Opinons Politics

House to Hold Hearing on Slavery Reparations

A House Judiciary subcommittee will hold hearings on reparations next Wednesday, marking the first time in more than a decade that the House will discuss potentially compensating the descendants of slaves.

“The Case for Reparations” author Ta-Nehisi Coates and actor Danny Glover are reportedly set to testify before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and the hearing’s stated purpose will be “to examine, through open and constructive discourse, the legacy of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, its continuing impact on the community and the path to restorative justice,” according to a Thursday Associated Press report.

The June 19 hearing also “coincides with Juneteenth, a cultural holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved blacks in America.”


Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), who sits on the subcommittee, again introduced H.R. 40 earlier this year to create a reparations commission. Jackson Lee said her bill would create a commission “to study the impact of slavery and continuing discrimination against African-Americans, resulting directly and indirectly from slavery to segregation to the desegregation process and the present day.” She added in January that the “commission would also make recommendations concerning any form of apology and compensation to begin the long delayed process of atonement for slavery.”


House plans Thursday vote on government funding bill to extend spending through November
DC comic book writer says ‘no regrets’ after her Charlie Kirk posts led to cancellation of Batman spin-off
Watch: DA Reads Text Messages That Make Suspected Charlie Kirk Assassin’s Motive Clear
DA Lists Charges Against Suspected Charlie Kirk Assassin, Announces Death Penalty Will Be Sought
Man claimed to shoot Charlie Kirk to ‘draw attention’ from real gunman, police say
Indiana man charged with sending threat that locked down US Naval Academy
FBI’s ‘Arctic Frost’ Trump investigation also targeted Kirk’s Turning Point USA, Grassley says
Hakeem Jeffries’ 4-word answer to why he skipped Charlie Kirk vigil
Man Who Claimed to Have Shot Charlie Kirk Hit with Multiple Child Sexual Exploitation Charges
University’s Charlie Kirk tribute defaced as students hurl insults at his supporters: ‘Lost souls’
Graphic Video: College Student Who Literally Danced Over Kirk Murder Learns TX Is Out to Crush Terror Supporters
Florida woman charged with felony after allegedly assaulting 73-year-old during Charlie Kirk vigil
Utah man who falsely claimed to be Charlie Kirk shooter hit with child porn charge after arrest
Watch: Young Lib Goes Viral as Charlie’s Murder Wakes Him Up, Realizes He’s Surrounded by Evil but Had No Idea Until Now
FCC chairman defends free speech rights after Kirk assassination fuels calls for censorship of online debate
See also  This billionaire could gain from the ‘anti-monopoly’ summit he’s sponsoring

“The impact of slavery and its vestiges continues to effect African Americans and indeed all Americans in communities throughout our nation,” Jackson Lee said. “This legislation is intended to examine the institution of slavery in the colonies and the United States from 1619 to the present, and further recommend appropriate remedies. Since the initial introduction of this legislation, its proponents have made substantial progress in elevating the discussion of reparations and reparatory justice at the national level and joining the mainstream international debate on the issues. Though some have tried to deflect the importance of these conversations by focusing on individual monetary compensation, the real issue is whether and how this nation can come to grips with the legacy of slavery that still infects current society. Through legislation, resolutions, news, and litigation, we are moving closer to making more strides in the movement toward reparations.”

Jackson Lee argued that despite the progress of African-Americans in the private sector, education, and the government in addition to “the election of the first American President of African descent, the legacy of slavery lingers heavily in this nation.”


House plans Thursday vote on government funding bill to extend spending through November
DC comic book writer says ‘no regrets’ after her Charlie Kirk posts led to cancellation of Batman spin-off
Watch: DA Reads Text Messages That Make Suspected Charlie Kirk Assassin’s Motive Clear
DA Lists Charges Against Suspected Charlie Kirk Assassin, Announces Death Penalty Will Be Sought
Man claimed to shoot Charlie Kirk to ‘draw attention’ from real gunman, police say
Indiana man charged with sending threat that locked down US Naval Academy
FBI’s ‘Arctic Frost’ Trump investigation also targeted Kirk’s Turning Point USA, Grassley says
Hakeem Jeffries’ 4-word answer to why he skipped Charlie Kirk vigil
Man Who Claimed to Have Shot Charlie Kirk Hit with Multiple Child Sexual Exploitation Charges
University’s Charlie Kirk tribute defaced as students hurl insults at his supporters: ‘Lost souls’
Graphic Video: College Student Who Literally Danced Over Kirk Murder Learns TX Is Out to Crush Terror Supporters
Florida woman charged with felony after allegedly assaulting 73-year-old during Charlie Kirk vigil
Utah man who falsely claimed to be Charlie Kirk shooter hit with child porn charge after arrest
Watch: Young Lib Goes Viral as Charlie’s Murder Wakes Him Up, Realizes He’s Surrounded by Evil but Had No Idea Until Now
FCC chairman defends free speech rights after Kirk assassination fuels calls for censorship of online debate
See also  Schumer to force Epstein files vote in Senate with NDAA amendment

“While we have focused on the social effects of slavery and segregation, its continuing economic implications remain largely ignored by mainstream analysis,” she continued. “These economic issues are the root cause of many critical issues in the African-American community today, such as education, healthcare and criminal justice policy, including policing practices. The call for reparations represents a commitment to entering a constructive dialogue on the role of slavery and racism in shaping present-day conditions in our community and American society.”

In the Senate, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), a 2020 presidential candidate, introduced the companion legislation, saying creating a reparations committee “is a way of addressing head-on the persistence of racism, white supremacy, and implicit racial bias in our country.”

“It will bring together the best minds to study the issue and propose solutions that will finally begin to right the economic scales of past harms and make sure we are a country where all dignity and humanity is affirmed,” Booker said in April.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), in addition to nearly every Democrat running for president, has endorsed Jackson Lee’s bill.

And though Coates praised Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-CA) this week on the reparations issue, Warren, like nearly every other 2020 Democrat with the exception of former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, has squirrelly dodged questions about whether the United States government should make cash payments to the descendants of slaves.

See also  Charlie Kirk’s widow tells America: ‘You have no idea what you have unleashed’

Story cited here.

Share this article:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter