St. Louis (KMOX) -- St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones is defending her support over reparations for slavery in the United States.
Jones signed a pledge earlier this month along with 11 other U.S. mayors to work toward paying reparations to some residents in their respective cities.
The first-term mayor was asked how that can be justified given the fact no living person was a slave.
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"We're still in the effects of slavery," Jones said. "There is post-traumatic slavery syndrome that a lot of African Americans experience."
The goal of the effort is to try to get the federal government to act on the issue. No local money has been identified that would be used for the reparations.
"We have to atone for previous behavior and the systemic racism that continues to keep people back," Jones said.
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