Democrat Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) is slated to introduce a reparations resolution this week, as she believes it is a “moral and legal obligation” for Americans.
The resolution itself involves the U.S. spending “trillions” on reparations for black Americans. The resolution points to Jim Crow laws as part of the justification for the use of U.S. tax dollars going toward this effort.
“This is a moment in time where societies are shaped [and] new societies are built. We should be the ones who are shaping it,” Lee said, enraged that President Donald Trump ended many diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) measures with the “stroke of a pen.”
WATCH — Democrats Introduce Resolution for Reparations:
“That’s why we recognize that the fight to restore black folks has to be so much more substantive,” she added.
The news comes on the heels of several proponents of reparations — including Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Rep. Ayanna Presley (D-MA), Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), and Rep. Lee — participating in a congressional briefing on Tuesday titled “We Can’t Wait: Advancing Reparative Justice in Our Lifetime.”
The briefing was organized in partnership with the National Black Justice Collective, Black Lives Matter Global Movement Fund, and the Black Music Action Coalition.
The event listed several pieces of “key” legislation, which include Lee’s “Reparations Now Resolution” as well as Booker and Pressley’s “Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act.”
Indeed, both Pressley and Booker have busied themselves over the past several weeks focusing on pushing reparations for black Americans. In February, they reintroduced legislation to “establish a federal commission to examine the lasting legacy of slavery and develop reparations proposals for African American descendants of enslaved people.”
In a statement, Pressley claimed the Trump administration has engaged in a “coordinated, years-long effort to dismantle any policy that uplifts Black folks and addresses America’s shameful history of systemic racism,” failing to provide any legitimate examples.
Booker argued that the nation has yet to “truly” acknowledge and grapple with “the ways slavery, racism, and white supremacy continue to disadvantage African Americans.”
“Commissioning a study to better understand where our country has fallen short will help lawmakers better address the racial disparities and inequalities that persist today as a result of generational injustices,” he asserted.
