The Living Consequences

The uncomfortable truth is that the United States owes its position as the most powerful nation in the world to its slave-owning past.

Rep. Jackson Lee

The 117th U.S. Congress convened for the first time at noon on Sunday, and yesterday, Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) re-introduced H.R. 40, the bill which would establish a commission to study reparations for slavery.

H.R. 40, proposed in every Congress since the 101st, would acknowledge our nation’s unresolved history of slavery and racial discrimination and establish a commission to study its impact, consider a national apology, and suggest remedies. As Rep. Jackson Lee noted in her remarks introducing H.R. 40, it is “a holistic bill” which “establishes a commission to examine the moral and social implications of slavery,” and not just its economic consequences.

Update, January 25: Today, Senator Cory Booker introduced a Senate version of H.R. 40, to be known as S. 40, as he did in the last Congress.

Though some have tried to deflect the importance of these conversations by focusing on individual monetary compensation, the real issue is whether and how this nation can come to grips with the legacy of slavery that still infects current society.

Rep. Jackson Lee

Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) first proposed H.R. 40 in 1989, and he reintroduced the bill in every new Congress until his resignation from Congress in 2017. Rep. Jackson Lee assumed first sponsorship over H.R. 40 at that time, and has since re-introduced the legislation with each new Congress. The bill currently has 118 co-sponsors.

It is good for the soul of a person, a people, and of a nation to set things right.

Katrina Browne

In the last Congress, H.R. 40 received its first hearing, which I was privileged to attend. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, happens with H.R. 40 in the new Congress: the Democratic majority in the House is slimmer, but control of the Senate won’t be determined until after today’s elections in Georgia.

H.R. 40 has been referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary for further consideration. The text of the bill is not yet available, although it is likely to be substantially the same as in past years.