By Jessica Washington
The fight for reparations has been heating up in statehouses and city halls nationwide. And now, Representative Cori Bush (D-Mo.) wants to bring that fight to Congress. The Missouri Congresswoman is introducing the Reparations Now Resolution, urging Congress to provide at least $14 trillion in reparations to descendants of enslaved Africans.
âWe need to push this right now,â Rep. Bush told The Root. âItâs 2023, and the U.S. federal government still has not acknowledged the atrocities that came at the hands of this government.â
Bushâs resolution estimates that this nation owes roughly $14 trillion in debt to African Americans. âOur bill breaks down the value of cotton produced by enslaved Africans…the economic advancement of the United States through cotton,â Bush said. âAnd how there has never been any repayment for the harm done to those enslaved.â
However, according to Bush, this isnât just about slavery. Itâs also about the government-sanctioned harms that ensued, such as mass incarceration and lynchings. âWhat weâre talking about is freedom and equity and calling on this country to acknowledge the harm that it has inflicted,â she said.
The Congresswoman and her partners have been working on the plan, which includes calls for direct cash payments and investments in sectors like housing and education, for years. As Bush puts it, white supremacy has been woven through every thread of our government since its inception.
Therefore stamping it out is going to take widespread and continued investments. Itâs unlikely that we will see a Republican-led House support a resolution for reparations. Still, Bush says itâs essential to get these arguments into the congressional record anyway, especially in light of attacks on the very concept of teaching about the history of slavery or racism in this county.
