Summer Lee will introduce a billion-dollar reparations plan for Black Americans
Rep. Summer Lee announced the exposure of "Reparations Now" on Thursday.
A Democratic representative plans to introduce a resolution in the House this week calling for the U.S. to allocate billions of dollars for "moral" reparations for Black Americans.
Summer Lee of Pennsylvania announced the "Reparations Now" initiative on Thursday.
The representative joined other lawmakers and activists on Capitol Hill just days earlier for an event titled "Why We Can't Wait: Pushing for Restorative Justice in Our Lifetimes." She argued that reparations are both a "moral and legal obligation" for Americans.
Lee's resolution cites the history of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and other racially discriminatory policies to justify spending billions of dollars to support the descendants of Black Americans in the U.S.
Rep. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania is introducing a "reparations now" resolution in the House Thursday. https://t.co/q0UmjXRFvq
Federal commission to study slavery
The initiative follows Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, who introduced her own legislation last February calling for a federal commission to study the history of slavery in the U.S. and explore proposals for reparations.
"We will not relent in our quest for racial justice," Pressley said at the time.
The bill aims to establish a federal commission tasked with investigating the lasting impacts of slavery and its consequences, while also developing concrete proposals for reparations to African Americans who are descendants of slaves, Pressley said.
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Reparations initiatives in blue states
In recent years, Democratic politicians in blue states, including California, have championed reparations initiatives as a way to "fix" what advocates describe as the legacy of racist policies that created disparities for Black people in housing, education, and healthcare.
Democrats on Capitol Hill and in California have advocated for reparations legislation, with other cities and states also proposing similar measures.
Two racism reparations bills fail in California
Bill 1331 was designed to create a new fund for reparations, while Bill 1403 sought to establish an agency to oversee the efforts and determine eligibility for reparations.
Although California lawmakers passed other bills aimed at addressing past racial injustices, none of them would provide direct payments to African Americans.
Lawmakers blamed Gov. Gavin Newsom for shelving the initiatives.
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