Missouri’s Democratic Representative Cori Bush has recently unveiled a new legislative proposal, seeking reparations totaling $14 trillion for Black Americans.
The objective is to prompt the federal government to acknowledge and address its historical involvement in chattel slavery and the subsequent centuries of discriminatory policies.
“The United States has a moral and legal obligation to provide reparations for the enslavement of Africans and its lasting harm on the lives of millions of Black people,” Bush said in a Wednesday news conference attended by Reps. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., as well as other stakeholders.
“America must provide reparations if we desire a prosperous future for all,” Bush said.
Her resolution marks the most recent installment in a continuing series of endeavors by Democratic lawmakers to provide compensation to Black Americans, addressing the deep-rooted racial disparities that have persisted for centuries.
Comparable language pertaining to reparations has been presented in each legislative session since 1989.
“We know that we continue to live under slavery’s vestiges. We know how slavery has perpetuated Jim Crow. We know how slavery’s impacts live on today,” Bush said, citing the racial wealth gap, voter suppression, infant mortality rates and other negative health outcomes for Black people.
“It’s unjust and it wouldn’t happen in a just and fair and equitable society,” she said. “Those are not the natural consequences of human society.”
“They are directly caused by our federal government’s role in the enslavement and exploitation of Africans and Black people throughout our history.”
Though discussions surrounding reparations have gained momentum in recent years, with approximately a dozen cities and the state of California contemplating reparation initiatives, the idea remains widely unpopular among the American populace.
Approximately three-quarters or more of white adults express their opposition to reparations, and this sentiment is shared by most Latinos and Asian Americans.
In stark contrast, Black Americans overwhelmingly endorse the proposal, and younger generations are more inclined to support direct cash payments to the descendants of enslaved individuals than their older counterparts.
However, more than 90 percent of Republicans voice their opposition, while Democrats are divided nearly evenly on the question of whether descendants should receive compensation.
SOURCE: npr.org
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