NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Congressional committee will hold a hearing on reparations Wednesday for the first time in years.
To make the holiday Juneteenth, commemorating the day in 1865 that slaves in Texas learned they’d be emancipated, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties will hold a hearing to discuss the “legacy of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, its continuing impact on the community and the path to restorative justice.”
The hearing will discuss H.R. 40, a bill sponsored by Sheila Jackson Lee, which would “study and develop reparation proposals for African-Americans," among them, an apology from the U.S. government, "for the perpetration of gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity on African slaves and their descendants."
Renowned author Ta-Nehisi Coates is slated to appear, alongside Danny Glover and NJ Sen. Cory Booker.
Coates’ article for The Atlantic in 2014, "The Case for Reparations," played a pivoted role in bringing reparation back into the mainstream conversation.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was opposed to reparations on Tuesday, claiming, “I don't think reparations for something that happened 150 years ago for whom none of us currently living are responsible is a good idea."