History has a way of revealing the dark side of life, while also providing some relief in present day society. Case in point, the current H.R.40 Reparations bill that has recently come up for a vote in Congress. The House of Representatives has already passed the bill, based on the Democratic majority rule, however, the bill is now waiting for the Senate’s approval and it could take Vice President Kamala Harris’s breaking-the-tie vote to determine whether this bill will become law. What’s at stake began centuries ago, and although it’s reprehensible to how Black slaves were treated while living in America during the 18th and 19th centuries, the lead Congresswoman who is backing the bill, New York’s Representative Sheila Jackson sponsored the bill after it was introduced in 1989 and believes it signals progress for the descendants of the slaves. The contents of the bill highlight how 40 million descendants of slaves will receive trillions of dollars in reparations, a considered pay-back for the labor these slaves offered for free all throughout America at the beginning of its history and during its colonization by England.
The reparations bill was forwarded by the House Judiciary Committee, however, in no way is it a final sign that the bill will pass. The bill does indicate how Black people in America’s history have endured enough punishment for their slave labor and it’s now these folks’ time to be rewarded with proper compensation. Unfortunately, for this bill to pass in the Senate, the Republicans–who are more progressive in nature–would have to agree to get this bill to fruition. Although the Democrats have the Senate majority, at least 10 from the other side would have to break from their party’s stricter ways. The good news is that no other bill of its kind has traveled this far in the overall Congressional history of the United States. The reparations bill speaks volumes to the current climate of Black Lives Matter and how citizens from all sides of the spectrum are waking up to the injustices the slaves have endured for centuries.
We should all remember that it was the slaves who were instrumental in growing America’s economy over the many decades, and the living ancestry of these people need a reward in the form of monetary payment. It’s the least America can do to the millions of free slave laborers who toiled away for the benefit of today’s generations. President Biden is on board with the H.R.40 Reparations bill and after his meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus leaders, he is committed to seeing the bill be signed on his desk. There are specific cities in the United States who are aligning themselves with this bill, most notably Evanston, Illinois, and Providence, Rhode Island. These two areas are very appreciative of what the Black slaves had gone through to bring America to where it is today. In fact, with the help of Representative Jackson and North Carolina Representative Deborah Ross, the reparations bill is being more explored, talked about, and hopefully will be brought into a law that pays back trillions of dollars to the ancestry of this valuable population.
