Flashforward to 2021, and the bill that established Juneteenth as a national holiday and H.R. 40, the proposal to establish a commission to study reparations, reached Congress. The former passed, the latter did not.
To be sure, this was not the first time Americans have raised the importance of addressing America’s original sin. In fact, Representative. John Conyers first introduced Jackson Lee’s bill in 1989. But for decades, federal and state governments have rejected even the notion of studying reparations.
I am not surprised, nor deterred, that U.S. officials chose not to align with other nations in the U.N. vote. Making Juneteenth a national holiday is the closest our country has gotten to acknowledging the truth about enslavement and its vestiges. While essential, we must move beyond apologies and recognition.
The impacts of America’s history of slavery and racism are many, and so too are possible forms of reparations. Chattel slavery stole people’s families, intellectual creations, land, access to resources, and, for some, spiritual foundations. Many Black communities today still grapple with a lack of housing, adverse health effects stemming from environmental racism, so-called urban renewal that strips their communities of economic opportunities, and the dilution of their power through arbitrary political boundaries. Our generation is charged with closing the gap between admission and repair.
This is especially true now, as powerful forces work to undo the progress that has been made. It is more imperative than ever to support civic leaders and change-making organizations who are fighting for an equitable, just world. Ahead of this Juneteenth, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley carried that charge forward, calling on Congress to advance H.R. 40 and a full reparative justice agenda.
Meanwhile, the winds are less visible, but they are felt. It is a quiet insistence that justice is still moving; it is on its way to demand reparations. It is shifting and shaping as we joyously tap into the spirit of Juneteenth, the preserving spirit that has already planned our freedom.
I hope future Juneteenth celebrations are amplified by truth, healing, and repair. But for now, I believe the winds are encouraging and that justice delayed will not remain justice denied.
Hence then, the article about you can t separate juneteenth from the call for reparations was published today ( ) and is available on Time ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( You Can't Separate Juneteenth From the Call for Reparations )
Also on site :