Erika Alexander and Nina Turner, Opinion contributors
Published
1:25 pm UTC Apr. 15, 2021
On Wednesday the House Judiciary approved H.R. 40 a reparations bill written more than 30 years ago. It s a long-overdue but history-making step. The bill, which will form a commission to study the possibility of federal reparations, heads to the House floor as states, universities and private organizations across the country push for reparative action.
Below is one of three columns USA TODAY Opinion is publishing as part of an exploration of the national fight for reparations addressing systemic discrimination faced by the Black community.
Reparations are gaining ground, with measures passed in states including California, North Carolina and Vermont, and now in the city of Evanston, Illinois. While this progress is necessary, local initiatives aren’t enough on their own. Slavery was national policy, and its aftermath remains a national crisis.
Reparations not about cutting a check It s about repairing a community
cincinnati.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cincinnati.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Catholic order agrees to $100 million in U S slavery reparations
thegrio.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thegrio.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Color Farm Media, and
iHeartMedia’s
The Black Effect Podcast Network. Together, they bring individual perspectives to the conversation and are joined by special guests and experts ranging from
Rev. William Barber,
Robin Rue Simmons, and
more. While they analyze reparations, the creative podcast investigates the underlying racist architecture of modern businesses, laws, policies, and institutions that have their roots in slavery.
(Image credit Ben Arnon)
Both hosts have passionate reasoning for wanting to invest the time and talent in producing the unique broadcast.
“I think this subject is extremely important to both Erica and me. What we always say is, it’s interesting we traveled very different paths in life to end up in this place where we both feel that reparations, and trying to make amends to the devastation that slavery, put on black Americans as what we believe is the most important sort of national progress we need to undertake, essentially, that division