A bill signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday establishes a commission tasked with examining reparations to address the state’s ongoing, negative effects of slavery. It comes at a time when many states and communities around the country are grappling with how to best confront the country’s dark past, and it follows in the footsteps of similar task committees in California and Illinois. “In New York, we like to think we’re on the right side of this. Slavery was a product of the South, the Confederacy,” Hochul, a Democrat, said at the bill signing ceremony in New York City. “What is hard to embrace is the fact that our state also flourished from that slavery. It’s not a beautiful story, but indeed it is the truth.”
Under the law, which was passed by state lawmakers in June, the study commission will examine the extent to which the federal and state governments supported the institution of slavery. It will also look at how New York, which fully abolished slavery by 1827, engaged in the transfer of enslaved Africans and the ongoing effects of the institution on Black New Yorkers today. “The battle for civil rights was not below the Mason–Dixon line. The largest port of slave trade was in Charleston, South Carolina and Wall Street, New York,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, who spoke at the signing ceremony. “So this today starts a process of taking the veil off of northern inequality and saying we must repair the damage and it can be an example for this nation.”
A year after its initial meeting, the nine-member group will be obligated to provide a report
A year after its initial meeting, the nine-member group will be obligated to provide a report. Its recommendations, which could include monetary compensation, would be non-binding. Its conclusions are designed to drive policy reforms as well as activities and projects aimed at mitigating the detrimental consequences of slavery on Black New Yorkers. The idea of using public funds to compensate descendants of enslaved people is likely certain to elicit opposition from some, including those white people who believe they should not be forced to pay for the sins of long-ago relatives, as well as other ethnic groups who were not involved in the slave trade.
Sharpton predicted that Hochul would suffer a political price for convening the commission. “I want to give credit to this governor for having the audacity and courage to do what others wouldn’t do. And I know she had to wrestle with it. And I know her political advisors told her it’s too risky,” the famed civil rights activist said. “But she did it because it’s right.”
Hochul and other state lawmakers emphasized at the ceremony that the process will help open up conversations about what reparations could look like. The governor and the legislative leaders of the state Assembly and Senate will each appoint three qualified members to the commission. They have 90 days to make their picks. “This is not just about who we’re going to write a check to, and what the amount is,” said Democratic Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, the first Black person to hold the position. “It begins the conversation with one recognizing the issues that affected Black people and descendants of slaves in this state,” he said.
“The reparations of slavery were paid with the blood and lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans who fought to end slavery during the Civil War”
State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt said in a statement that he believes New York’s recommendations will come at an “astronomical cost” to all New Yorkers. “The reparations of slavery were paid with the blood and lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans who fought to end slavery during the Civil War,” he went on to say. He also stated that it is unrealistic for states to bear the possibly high cost of cash reparations. California became the first state to establish a reparations task committee in 2020. In June, the panel delivered its two-year report to state lawmakers, who then presented legislation to form an organization to carry out some of the panel’s more than 100 suggestions, such as assisting families with genealogical research. However, given the state’s large fiscal imbalance, implementing those recommendations into policies may be difficult.
“The reparations of slavery were paid with the blood and lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans who fought to end slavery during the Civil War,” he said. He added that it’s unrealistic for states to meet the potentially expensive price tag that could come with cash reparations. California became the first state to establish a reparations task committee in 2020. In June, the panel delivered its two-year report to state lawmakers, who then presented legislation to form an organization to carry out some of the panel’s more than 100 suggestions, such as assisting families with genealogical research. However, given the state’s large fiscal imbalance, implementing those recommendations into policies may be difficult.
Other states, such as Massachusetts and New Jersey, have considered studying reparations, but no legislation has yet been passed. In 2021, Evanston, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, will be the first to make reparations available to Black citizens through a $10 million housing project. The U.S. Congress apologized to African-Americans for slavery in 2009, but a federal proposal to create a commission studying reparations has long stalled.