The District of Columbia City Council reintroduced legislation to establish a reparation fund for black residents who have been “directly wronged and traumatized by the ills of slavery.”
On Monday, at-large council member Kenyan McDuffie, along with nine other members, introduced the Reparations Foundation Fund and Task Force Establishment Act of 2023.
The measure was first introduced by McDuffie, the former Ward 5 council member, in 2020, but the proposal failed.
“The reality that slavery, de jure, de facto segregation, black codes, and other government-sanctioned actions, redlining in real estate … really helped to deny wealth and opportunities to black Americans. There’s a racial wealth gap here in the nation’s capital, [there’s] an educational achievement gap, the stark disparities in health and employment—all as a result of intentional laws,” McDuffie told DCist/WAMU on Monday….