Black Democrats press leaders for reparations vote this month
By Mike Lillis - 06/15/21 06:00 AM EDT
Black Democrats are pressing hard on party leaders to stage a reparations vote this month, citing the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre as impetus for Congress to launch a study into the delicate question of whether the country owes Black Americans restitution for slavery.
A number of Congressional Black Caucus members had visited Tulsa, Okla., late last month, joining President Biden at the site of the 1921 massacre in the Greenwood neighborhood then known as Black Wall Street. The lawmakers, though already pushing for a floor vote on the legislation, returned from the experience with a heightened urgency to see it done this summer.
“For those of us who went to Tulsa, it became even more apparent to us how important it is to pass H.R. 40 and to do so certainly before we leave for the August recess,” said Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), citing the House bill number.
Johnson noted that neither the victims of Greenwood nor their descendants were ever compensated for their losses — not even from their own insurance companies — which has only lit a fire under reparations supporters to pass the bill this year.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/house/558412-black-democrats-press-leaders-for-reparations-vote-this-month
