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Neighbors,

We are six days away from the public hearing on the Reparations Foundation Fund and Task Force Establishment Act and we invite you to testify in person or virtually by registering at the link here ([link removed]) . The legislation would establish a 9-member task force to study and develop reparations proposals for African Americans in the District of Columbia, with a Special Consideration for African Americans who are descendants of persons enslaved in the United States. It would also establish a Reparations Foundation Fund to be used for the payment of reparations.

The notion that, with hard work, everyone born in the United States has an equal opportunity to succeed and achieve the American Dream is sadly not the case. We do not live in a post racial society, and racial equality has not been achieved. If ever we are going to achieve racial equity in this country, it will require official recognition of the role of government-sanctioned slavery, segregation, and other actions in denying wealth-building opportunities to Black Americans. We must be intentional in our efforts so that Black Americans might finally be compensated for their ancestors’ labor and for the continuing effects of policies and systems designed to suppress their potential to build wealth.

The District of Columbia has one of the largest disparities in wealth between black and white residents of any city in the United States. Moreover, our city is one of the most racially segregated cities in the country. These statistics should convince any reasonable person of the need for this task force. And, any claim that these stark racial disparities can be eliminated by free market forces or if Black people simply changed their behaviors rather than government sanctioned efforts to atone for the lingering effects of structural racism is flawed.

In service,

Kenyan

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