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Congress Holds Historic Hearing on Reparations

HeadlineJun 20, 2019

On Wednesday, the House Judiciary panel held a historic hearing on reparations for slavery—the first of its kind in over a decade. Lawmakers are considering a bill that would create a commission to study the effects of slavery and make recommendations to Congress, including a formal apology for slavery. This is actor and activist Danny Glover.

Danny Glover: “A national reparations policy is a moral, democratic and economic imperative. I sit here as the great-grandson of a former slave, Mary Brown, who was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863. … Despite much progress over the centuries, this hearing is yet another important step in the long and heroic struggle of African Americans to secure reparations for the damages inflicted by enslavement and post-emancipation and racial exclusionary policies.”

Acclaimed author Ta-Nehisi Coates, who also testified at yesterday’s hearing, will join us after headlines.

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