U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib joined her colleague, U.S. Representative Cory Bush, in calling for the federal government to move on give reparations to the descendants of the enslaved Black people.
Tlaib signed on as an original cosponsor of Bush’s Reparations Now Resolution that calls on the federal government to provide reparations to the descendants of enslaved Black families. The resolution outlines the various forms those reparations should take. The Reparations Now Resolution seeks to advance federal reparations, support existing reparatory justice efforts such as H.R. 40, which sets up a commission to study and develop proposals for reparation, and provide further momentum to reparations efforts at the state and local levels.
“Our country promised reparations to our Black neighbors and never followed through, even as other communities were provided some form of reparations,” she said. “For centuries, our Black neighbors have endured the brutality of slavery, the violence of white supremacy, the dehumanization of Jim Crow, and the systemic racism that has left a lasting impact on the lives of Black families in our communities. By providing reparations, Congress can begin to address the racial wealth gap, end the decades of disinvestment in communities of color, and dismantle the racist systems that have oppressed our Black neighbors for far too long.”
The Detroit representative joins Reps. Jamaal Bowman from New York, Al Green from Texas, Jonathan Jackson and Delia Ramirez from Illinois, Barbara Lee from California, Summer Lee from Pennsylvania, Ilhan Omar from Minnesota and Ayanna Pressley from Massachusetts in co-sponsoring the Reparations Now Resolution.
The Reparations Now Resolution has also been endorsed by nearly 300 organizations, including National Coalition Of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA), Color of Change, Action St. Louis, Arch City Defenders, Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International USA, National Black Justice Coalition, African American Redress Network, New Brunswick Area NAACP, Japanese American Citizens League, Black Music Action Coalition, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Inc., Reparation Education Project, US Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) Movement, Universal Human Rights Initiative, National Council of Churches, Drug Policy Alliance, National Education Association, Decolonizing Wealth Project, National Conference of Black Lawyers (NCBL), Terence Crutcher Foundation, National Consumers League, Reparations Finance Lab, National Council of Jewish Women, and National Nikkei Reparations Coalition (NNRC).
Tlaib has supported the cause for reparations for a few years. For example, she supported the House’s original call for a reparations commission back in 2019.
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