In the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests over the summer, Democratic lawmakers led by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas (Democrat) called for a bill to consider reparations for slavery.
Remington Belford, a spokesperson for Lee said, “In response to our current focus on Black inequality, H.R. 40 allows for the first constructive, scholarly conversation on race that is clearly needed in the U.S. today. It offers full discussion on the analysis of economic, political, psychological, scientific, and sociological effects of slavery in the US.”
Calls for a “study” abound, including for the office of incoming President to be Joe Biden. The state of California passed a resolution to create a reparations task force.
But opponents say that slavery made it all but impossible for most African Americans to track their lineage before the Civil War, so how could they prove they descended from slaves?
Writer David Frum warned The Atlantic that if a reparations bill were passed, it would be expanded to apply to other groups like Native Americans yet leave out many others.
Conservative activist Bob Woodson told The Hill that reparations are “yet another insult to Black America that is clothed in the trappings of social justice.”
Watch the video to learn why one NYU professor believes all blacks should receive reparations for slavery, whether they can prove a personal connection or not.
