Dear John,
Black people don’t need another symbolic victory without substantive change. Last week, 156 years since the end of chattel slavery in the US, Congress passed bills that establish Juneteenth as a federal holiday. While acknowledging America’s original sin is a step in the right direction, we need Congress to pass legislation that addresses the impact of slavery and the legalized oppression of our people. Even in the aftermath of slavery, when Black people successfully navigated racial segregation and oppressive Jim Crow laws, racist white mobs—deputized by government officials—pillaged and destroyed Black communities, with no consequences to this day. Even in the centennial year of the Tulsa Race Massacre, the survivors and descendants of the victims are still fighting to recover denied insurance claims as well as stolen livelihoods and generational wealth. There has been no redress for the institution of slavery, the decimation of Black communities, and ongoing harm against Black people.
But there is a bill in Congress to address this: H.R. 40: Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act. Right now there is overwhelming support behind H.R. 40 with 188 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives. But we need more co-sponsors in order to bring H.R. 40 to a full House vote before the congressional recess in August.
John, will you tell your congress member to co-sponsor H.R. 40?
Black people have been observing Juneteenth since 1866. It is a celebration of our freedom, our self-determination, and our resilience. We are not content with a holiday unless it is accompanied by meaningful legislation that addresses the past and ongoing harm against Black people. H.R. 40 is not new to Congress; it was introduced in 1989 and has been delayed and deprioritized for the past 33 years. This is why we can’t wait. In April, H.R. 40 passed its first committee vote, making it the closest the US has ever come to reckoning with the impact of slavery.1 Now we need a full House vote. The momentum for the reparations movement is building across the country, and states like California and New York are surpassing the federal government and moving their own reparations bills. But we still need a national reparations commission, which H.R. 40 would establish. The time for that is right now! We can’t wait for government leaders to make reparations for Black people a priority—we have to demand that they do!
John, call your Congress member and tell them to co-sponsor H.R. 40 today! Justice can't wait!
Until justice is real,
--The Color Of Change team
Reference:
1. “Historic Progress on US Slavery Reparations Bill,” Human Rights Watch, April 15, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/311168?t=7&akid=51205%2E4731121%2EN6Ykhr
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