John,

Today is Juneteenth, a holiday marking the day in 1865—two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation—when 250,000 enslaved Black people in Texas learned that slavery was officially over.

But it did not mean full Black freedom. Unfortunately, white people throughout the country codified anti-Black racism in other ways, and our country continues to deny Black people equal rights. In fact, the wealth gap between Black and white families continues to expand today.

We need justice and full Black liberation. And that means reparations for the ongoing harms of slavery and anti-Blackness in U.S. institutions.

To honor the ongoing fight for Black liberation this Juneteenth, please sign on now to support Rep. Cori Bush’s new Reparations Now Resolution.

Although Juneteenth marks the official end to chattel slavery in the South, it does not mark the end to systemic racism throughout the country.

From the 1910s to the 1960s, millions of Black people moved North for job opportunities and to escape segregation and racial terror in the South—only to find oppression and discrimination in cities like Detroit, too.

Like other marginalized communities across the country, majority-Black Detroit has faced racist disenfranchisement as well as government disinvestment and discrimination in housing, infrastructure, education, banking, policing, water access, air quality, and more.

Here in Michigan, we used to have one of the highest rates of Black homeownership in the country, but in recent years we’ve seen the greatest decline in Black homeownership of any state.

I’ve fought for housing justice because redlining still exists, with Black Americans disproportionately denied fair lending rates and mortgages, regardless of income. Modern-day redlining persists in unequal car insurance rates that unjustly target my constituents, as well. No wonder the wealth gap between Black and white families in the U.S. keeps growing.

It’s clear: We need reparations for Black people in America.

Please sign if you agree: Our federal government can and must start to dismantle its continued structural racism by enacting reparations for Black Americans.

Thank you for continuing to fight for justice and equity.

In solidarity,

Rashida

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Rashida Tlaib
Date: Sat, Jun 17, 2023
Subject: To honor Juneteenth and the ongoing struggle for Black liberation, let’s push for reparations
To: [email protected]

John,

This weekend, I’m celebrating Juneteenth in my home city of Detroit, one of the most beautiful, Blackest cities in the country—where movements for civil rights and social justice are birthed.

Our former Congressman John Conyers broke ground back in 1989 when introducing legislation to establish a federal commission on reparations, and this year I’ve been honored to support new reparations legislation from my sister in service Rep. Cori Bush.

Cori Bush introduced the Reparations Now Resolution, which recognizes the federal government’s responsibility to provide reparations for the enslavement of Africans—as well as for the harm our government continues to inflict on millions of Black people.

Please sign on today if you agree that we need reparations now. To honor Juneteenth and the ongoing struggle for Black liberation, add your name to become a grassroots co-sponsor of Rep. Cori Bush’s Reparations Now Resolution.

Our country’s wealth was built on the backs of enslaved Black people, and our government must repair and take responsibility for ongoing anti-Black harms.

Throughout her life as a Black woman, Cori Bush has personally experienced how Black people continue to bear the harms of slavery and its vestiges.

We see this in present-day health disparities, the growing Black-white wealth gap, escalating police violence against Black communities, and so much more. Anti-Black racism is built into our country’s institutions, including our criminal legal system, housing, education, and healthcare.

To start to heal generations of trauma and get closer to equity, we need reparations for Black people in America.

Add your name to become a grassroots co-sponsor of Rep. Cori Bush’s Reparations Now Resolution.

In solidarity,

Rashida