Tell the House, Pass H.R. 40: UUs Endorse A Fact-Based Understanding of American Slavery

True national unity can only emerge with acknowledgment of harm. It's one of the first steps in pursuing restorative justice. For that reason, UUSJ supports H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act. The very least we can do is to "study and recommend." 

Now is the moment, the House Judiciary Committee voted H.R. 40 out of committee, and onto the floor for full consideration. This, for the first time since H.R. 40's introduction in 1989.  

As Unitarian Universalists and Americans, many of us want to understand the harms of slavery and its impacts on our society. We believe that to overcome the legacy of American slavery as a primordial moral failure of our nation, we must have fact-based dialogue.  This feels highly relevant to our times, and to act upon legislation that helps promote racial equity seems just. Moreover, the right to remedy for abuse and discrimination is a well-established principle of U.S. and human rights law. 

The deep work of dismantling systemic racism must include acknowledging the harm of American slavery and its continued impact on racial and ethnic communities such as disparities in health, education, employment, housing, environmental outcomes, and policing, among other things. We can not do that properly without the combination of measures in H.R. 40 to study and recommend action. 

Importantly, given the politics on Capitol Hill, the commission would recommend proposals on findings, without authorizing payments. It creates a commission to study the problem and recommend solutions. While incremental, this follows the tradition of federal commissions that have investigated Japanese American internment during World War II; claims brought by First Nations peoples against the US; and the establishment of a Holocust memorial. In each case, the commissions recommended providing some form of redress.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, BIPOC youth and voters have made it clear that addressing racial justice and equity is an urgent need in our nation. They have an eye on the future, and Beloved Community, and passing H.R. 40 is an essential step in the right direction.

Reparations:

• National African-American Reparations Commission (NAARC) Fact Page
• National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA) Fact Page
• H.R. 40: Exploring the Path to Reparative Justice in America 
• Towards Transformative Change For Racial Justice And Equity
• Faith Communities: Understanding our History, Heading the Call for Repair
• Faith, Law and Reparations - A Call Whose Time Has Come by Iva E. Carruthers, Ph.D.

Costs and Inequality:

• Closing the Racial Inequality Gaps: The Economic Cost of Black Inequality in the U.S., by CitiBank
• Silver Spoon Oligarchs: How America's 50 Largest Inherited Wealth Dynasties Accelerate Inequality, by the Institute for Policy Studies
• Reforming Unemployment Insurance: Stabilizing a System in Crisis and Laying the Foundation for Equity, by the Economic Policy Institute
• Long Shadows: The Black-White Gap in Multigenerational Poverty, by The Brookings Institution
• Calling Forth Seeds of Justice and Shared Well-being from the Ashes of Crisis: Recommendations for a Faithful Recovery
• A Moral Policy Agenda to Heal and Transform America: The Poor People’s Jubilee Platform
• Poor People's Campaign: A National Call For Moral Reviaval - Souls Of Poor Folk Audit