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."
Ta-Nehisi Coates specified government policies and the direct victims of those racist polices, those people are still alive, why do they not deserve recompense?If I honestly thought that paying reparations would result in an end to all this grievance-based racial politicking, I'd wholeheartedly support reparations.
So, needless to say, I don't support reparations.
What would reparations look like - cash, low interest home loans and payments made by a government program, college tuition, etc.?
What would reparations look like - cash, low interest home loans and payments made by a government program, college tuition, etc.?
Because this entire phony mess is about reparations for slavery so Coates probably shouldn't change the subject, don't you think?Ta-Nehisi Coates specified government policies and the direct victims of those racist polices, those people are still alive, why do they not deserve recompense?
Because this entire phony mess is about reparations for slavery so Coates probably shouldn't change the subject, don't you think?
The Subject: Slavery reparationsIt's not changing the subject.
The Subject: Slavery reparations
What Coates Wants To Talk About: "Mr. Coates responded by ticking off a list of government-sponsored discriminatory policies". Iow, something that's not slavery.
The "legacy of slavery", lol, Coates is changing the subject.
To address the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to study and consider a national apology and proposal for reparations for the institution of slavery, its subsequent de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(5) following the abolition of slavery the United States Government, at the Federal, State, and local level, continued to perpetuate, condone and often profit from practices that continued to brutalize and disadvantage African-Americans, including share cropping, convict leasing, Jim Crow, redlining, unequal education, and disproportionate treatment at the hands of the criminal justice system; and
(6) as a result of the historic and continued discrimination, African-Americans continue to suffer debilitating economic, educational, and health hardships including but not limited to having nearly 1,000,000 black people incarcerated; an unemployment rate more than twice the current white unemployment rate; and an average of less than 1⁄16 of the wealth of white families, a disparity which has worsened, not improved over time.
b) Purpose.—The purpose of this Act is to establish a commission to study and develop Reparation proposals for African-Americans as a result of—
(2) the de jure and de facto discrimination against freed slaves and their descendants from the end of the Civil War to the present, including economic, political, educational, and social discrimination;
(3) the lingering negative effects of the institution of slavery and the discrimination described in paragraphs (1) and (2) on living African-Americans and on society in the United States;
Uh huh.It wasn't only about slavery (nor should it have been).
Uh huh.
It's okay to be wrong. The topic is not slavery only, as it should not be. The scope of the issue is more than just slavery itself.Uh huh.
I would too. The price on homes and rentals would need to be controlled. It seems that when a area is gentrified for the people who live there the rents and home prices jump above their means.I don't know if anybody really knows yet, though I wouldn't mind seeing a ton of investment in rebuilding urban black communities. You could tackle reparations, infrastructure, crime, blight, and education in one fell swoop.
I would too. The price on homes and rentals would need to be controlled.
I think it ended up in court because the developer or real estate broker hadn't let the first buyers know about the restrictions.
Uh huh.It's okay to be wrong. The topic is not slavery only, as it should not be. The scope of the issue is more than just slavery itself.
I’m for that personally but wouldn’t force it on anyone else. Of course, I’m pretty sure all white people today in the U.S. are beneficiaries of slavery.I am actually for reparations, but it has to be from the right people to the right people.
People who can be traced to slave owners pay out to people who can be traced to slaves.
I’m for that personally but wouldn’t force it on anyone else. Of course, I’m pretty sure all white people today in the U.S. are beneficiaries of slavery.
I’m for that personally but wouldn’t force it on anyone else. Of course, I’m pretty sure all white people today in the U.S. are beneficiaries of slavery.
I'd say I have benefited from being white but not because of slavery.I’m for that personally but wouldn’t force it on anyone else. Of course, I’m pretty sure all white people today in the U.S. are beneficiaries of slavery.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?