Congress Holds First Hearing on Reparations for Slavery Since Nationwide Black Lives Matter Protests in 2020 With Democrats Pushing for ‘National Apology’ to African Americans

Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is spearheading the effort to get H.R. 40 passed. If the resolution gets signed it would form a commission to study reparations for slavery

Congress held its first hearing on reparations for slavery since the May 2020 death of George Floyd, which reignited the Black Lives Matter movement.

Members of the Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties met over Zoom Wednesday to discuss H.R. 40, which aims to ‘establish a commission to study and consider a national apology and proposal for reparations for the institution of slavery.’

Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who’s spearheading the effort, argued her case with images, holding up pictures of a beaten slave and lynched black Americans.

The Republicans brought in Herschel Walker, a former National Football League player, to argue against reparations

The Republicans brought in conservative talk show host Larry Elder to argue against reparations

Freshman Utah Rep. Burgess Owens, who’s also a former National Football League Player, is a Republican and also argued against reparations during the hearing

Freshman Democratic Rep. Cori Bush was pro-reparations, pointing to how the government treated her black grandfathers, who were not given the same GI benefits as white veterans

‘This was our life, the back of a beaten slave. This was our life in to the 20th century, hangings of African-Americans, men and women. This was our life, when we were in public display, brutalized,’ the Texas congresswoman said, showing several grisly images.

She put those images in the Congressional record.

Democrats brought in academics, civil rights leaders and California’s new secretary of state, Shirley Weber, as witnesses, to discuss why H.R. 40 should be passed.

The resolution to study reparations was first introduced by the now late Rep. John Conyers in 1989 and was named after the ’40 acres and a mule’ that freed black Americans had been promised, but then the federal government didn’t act on.

It would green light a commission to study the issue.

A number of Democratic witnesses argued that the term ‘reparations’ stands for more than just financial hand-outs.

‘Popular conceptions of reparations are often fairly narrow, focusing only on financial compensation. But by contrast the international system places emphasis on a more comprehensive approach, according which financial compensation may certainly be necessary, but not sufficient,’ explained UCLA law professor Tendayi Achiume, who advises the United Nations. ‘Other required measures may include transforming the political, economic and social institutions and mechanisms for disclosing truth and restoring dignity for those subject to racial subordination, resulting from legacies of enslavesment,’ Achiume explained.

UCLA law professor Tendayi Achiume, who advises the United Nations, explained how broad the term ‘reparations’ can be

Kathy Masaoka, co-chair of the Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress, spoke about how commission hearings on reparations for Japanese-American internment victims, were heeling for that community

And some witnesses pointed out that reparations have been given out by the government before.

Kathy Masaoka, co-chair of the Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress, spoke of the reparations given to interned Japanese Americans, and also noted that the commission hearings – which H.R. 40 would green light for African-American reparations – helped the healing process in the community.

North Carolina Democratic Rep. Deborah Ross spoke about how her state has come up with reparations for forced sterilization by the government.

‘I don’t believe that this particular resolution prescribes a way of going forward, but it’s a conversation about what we need to do,’ Ross said. ‘And just as we did in North Carolina, when we passed a bill compensating people for forced sterilization, a terrible, terrible chapter in our history.’

Committee Republicans brought in former National Football League player Herschel Walker and talk show host Larry Elder as their guests.

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SOURCE: Daily Mail, Nikki Schwab