Ta-Nehisi Coates Assails Mitch McConnell at Raucous Reparations Hearing
Happy Juneteenth!
The House waded into the decades-old debate over reparations for African-Americans on Wednesday, convening its first hearing on legislation introduced 30 years ago that would create a commission to develop proposals to address the lingering effects of slavery and consider a "national apology" for the harm it has caused.
Hundreds of spectators, mostly black, were on hand for the historic hearing by a House Judiciary subcommittee, whose witnesses included Senator Cory Booker, the New Jersey Democrat and presidential candidate, the actor Danny Glover and the writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, who took direct aim at Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, for remarks he made Tuesday opposing the idea.
Mr. Coates called out Mr. McConnell several times by name, citing the senator’s comment that he does not favor reparations “" something that happened 150 years ago, for whom none of us currently living are responsible."
Mr. Coates responded by ticking off a list of government-sponsored discriminatory policies, including those in Mr. McConnell’s native Alabama, including redlining and poll taxes, that are the legacy of slavery.
"He was alive for the redlining of Chicago and the looting of black homeowners of some $4 billion," Mr. Coates said."Victims of their plunder are very much alive today. I am sure they would love a word with the majority leader."
Happy Juneteenth!