The Long Journey of Reparations For Slavery

Brut America

The conversation around slavery reparations has gone nowhere for decades — but this could change with Democratic candidates making it a platform issue for 2020.

Transcript

00:00Slavery is the original sin.

00:02Slavery has never received an apology.

00:05I believe having good faith conversations about repairing for past harm in our country

00:21in the context of reparations is really important.

00:24I firmly support Congresswoman Jackson Lee's bill to create a commission to study reparations.

00:30Foundational to reparations is the word repair.

00:33Foundational to repair is the truth.

00:50As a member of the Judiciary Committee, the first African-American on the House Judiciary

00:55Committee in its history, it became very clear that as we struggle with the questions

01:03of civil rights, affirmative action, equality of opportunity, there must be some historical

01:16cognition on our part about the whole question of reparations.

01:25H.R. 40 is, in fact, the response of the United States of America long overdue.

01:43Slavery is the original sin.

01:47Slavery has never received an apology.

01:50Enslavement reigned for 250 years on these shores.

01:53The matter of reparations is one of making amends and direct redress, but it is also

02:00a question of citizenship.

02:02In H.R. 40, this body has a chance to both make good on its 2009 apology for enslavement

02:08and reject fair-weather patriotism.

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