Slavery reparations bill appears set to advance in House

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: CBS News

After more than three decades, a bill that could lead to slavery reparations proposals appears set for a major step forward. The House Judiciary Committee plans to mark up the bill and vote on it Wednesday.

If the legislation is reported out of committee, it would set up the first floor vote on the measure since its introduction in 1989.

"This is what we call the next step," Representative Sheila Jackson Lee told CBS News. "America has never acknowledged the original sin, and that if you look at African-Americans today, the disparities that were entrenched in slavery still exist."

The Texas congresswoman is the lead sponsor of the bill, known as H.R. (House Resolution) 40. It was initially introduced by the late Michigan Representative John Conyers.



Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/slavery-reparations-bill-appears-set-to-advance-in-house/ar-BB1ftOfI?li=BBnb7Kz

[Faux pas]

1. Kickin' With Gusto!

[rampartc]

2. too little too late

slavery, and jim crow, are obvious injustices but, the families who lost husbands and fathers fighting to end slavery as well as the descendants of immigrants will resent paying reparations.

as a practical matter, this issue delivers congress and senate to the repubs in 2022.

[MisterNiceKitty]

4. Maybe

This is true that the most recent generation out of slavery deserved this most. But some would argue a kind of caste system still persists with legacies of slavery and Jim Crow as contributing factors. So it should still get a legit hearing.

[rampartc]

6. i can't argue against jim crow and the uniquely american caste system as unjust

40 acres and a mule would have been a bargain in 1865, the present value (with compound interest) of that acreage multiplied by mullions is staggering. the repubs will never pay it. even for peace and justice.

any legit hearing (which this issue does deserve) will certainly be demonized in terms, well, we had best be prepared for jan 6 on steroids. .

[Calista241]

19. 40 acres and a mule was a payout invented out of thin air

By General Sherman, as he conquered Atlanta.

At the end of the civil war, there were less than 4m slaves in the US, and today that population has grown to nearly 40m African Americans

I don’t think we have to worry about an uprising of white people, but if the Dems start spending tax payer money in stupid and crazy ways, i think we can prepare to be crushed in 2022 and 2024.

[rampartc]

20. it would have been easy in 1865

acreage was plentiful and mules were becoming army surplus.

i can not imagine this getting a vote in the senate.

[DenaliDemocrat]

22. Why not a modern day equivalent?

Free tuition for ancestors of slaves? Low interest loans? Maybe a big flush of investment in AA schools, universities, etc?

Reparations can take many forms. It doesn’t just have to be a check. Obviously the land and mule were a means for support, so let’s modernize it

[rampartc]

23. i would support any of those measures.

but then i think those programs should be ongoing and apply to everyone.

[Demsrule86]

9. Agree.

[FBaggins]

11. That assumes that it passes and becomes law

That's never going to happen.

But it allows people to demonstrate support for reparations as a concept and to point at those who opposed it.

[MisterNiceKitty]

3. The article does everything but tell us what's actually in the bill

Anyway this should set up an interesting fight, what with Republicans passing the 21st century version of the Black Codes and Joe Manchin on a power trip demanding bipartisanship that's rarely reciprocated.

Maybe in a couple of years and after DC (and maybe Puerto Rico) statehood is achieved would be a better time to revisit.

[madville]

24. Just look up H.R. 40. It just establishes a commission

To study things that can be done, like free education or monetary reparations. This legislation doesn’t actually create any of that stuff.

“H.R. 40 would establish a federal commission to study the legacy of slavery in the United States and its ongoing harm and develop proposals for redress and repair, including reparations. The bill has been introduced at every congressional session since 1989 but has never before reached a committee vote, normally the first step toward passing legislation. The vote comes amid an acceleration in the reparations movement’s success at the state and local levels.”

[MisterNiceKitty]

26. yeah see my post below yours

[MisterNiceKitty]

5. Doing the article author's job & thanks for posting Yo Mama....

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/40

Excerpt:
"Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act

This bill establishes the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans. The commission shall examine slavery and discrimination in the colonies and the United States from 1619 to the present and recommend appropriate remedies. Among other requirements, the commission shall identify (1) the role of the federal and state governments in supporting the institution of slavery, (2) forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors against freed slaves and their descendants, and (3) lingering negative effects of slavery on living African-Americans and society."

Thought they might be more specific in terms of compensation: such as means tested social welfare benefits (OADSI and grants for higher education) targeted on the population in question. Maybe a guaranteed living wage top up. There's lots of options to help the descendants of those whose uncompensated forced labor helped make the USA the world's preeminent super power.

[bucolic_frolic]

8. Reparations must lead to opportunity

and opportunity requires education. Native Americans were fleeced. Child labor was stolen. Comprehensive capital targeted at those who demonstrate diminished opportunity. You don't solve these things with $50k and a casino. Skills and outlook and personal interface with modern capitalism is what grows lives.

[DENVERPOPS]

10. Native Americans weren't fleeced

they were subjected to a MASS GENOCIDE by the ancestors of those who now want to wipe out anyone but their "white" race.

The blacks are not the only ones deserving, many other minorities were also enslaved through out U.S. History.

Most of Manhattan should be trotted off to a prairie in Oklahoma, and the Native Americans given Manhattan for starters......

[Bayard]

13. Agreed

And give the Black Hills back to them. That's the problem: This entire country was stolen from the Native population already living here, along with their lives and liberty.

How do you make reparations for that? You can't rectify history by just throwing money at it.

[DENVERPOPS]

14. If you don't learn from history

you are bound to repeat it.

Agree with rectifying history with money can't work.

Treatment of the Native Americans is at the top of the most despicable things our nation has done.

I'm sure some things regarding the current Native Americans can still be done to help them.

Currently, America is still treating them as a subhuman class of people, far worse than the Blacks or any other minority people....

It is amazing to me, that they are still teaching that Columbus "Discovered" America and that a majority of people in the U.S. also believe that to be true.

[Polybius]

12. I'm sure this will need 60 votes to pass the Senate

50 is highly unlikely. No way is Manchin supporting this.

[brooklynite]

15. This won't accomplish anything positive, and it'll give Republicans another social wedge issue.

Do we need improved civil rights policies? Yes, it that’s not what the term “reparations” means.

[Elwood P Dowd]

18. Yep, a free gift to the repukes prior to the 2022 elections. (nt)

[Polybius]

16. So who pays, the government or white people?

If it’s the latter, that’ll be awkward at dinner. My mom would have to pay my dad.

[brooklynite]

27. Thank you for framing why this will never happen...

My mom would have to pay my dad.

So, in your opinion, Whites will be taxed to pay reparations and Blacks are receiving them.

What about Whites and Blacks who immigrated after slavery was abolished, or didn't live in States with Jim Crow laws?

Irish and Italian immigrants were discriminated against; do they get a discount?

Do Hispanics get a wash? (neither payers or recipients).

Are low income Whites still charged? Do wealthy Blacks receive payments?

How about mixed race people: do they partially pay AND partially receive payment?

[marie999]

17. Will this help people whose ancestors were slaves

or all black people even those who moved here last month?

[brooklynite]

21. It won't help any of them...

...because it won't result in any reparations.

[madville]

25. Probably the best reply in the thread

It establishes a committee to study possible reparations, doesn’t actually create anything except a huge PR nightmare before a very important midterm election.


“H.R. 40 would establish a federal commission to study the legacy of slavery in the United States and its ongoing harm and develop proposals for redress and repair, including reparations. The bill has been introduced at every congressional session since 1989 but has never before reached a committee vote, normally the first step toward passing legislation. The vote comes amid an acceleration in the reparations movement’s success at the state and local levels.”

[JCMach1]

28. Will reap the PR negativity AND deliver nothing for anyone

Why would anyone ever vote for this lose/lose bill?

[madville]

29. I'm curious how they propose to identify who is a descendant

Of a slave that was in the US between 1619 and 1865. I know this is just a bill to commission a study but I imagine it would be a huge mess trying to prove or validate all the applicants claims of 1619-1865 slave lineage.