Late last week, the American Humanist Association (AHA) joined nearly 400 national, international, state, and local organizations in a letter urging leadership in the House of Representatives to bring HR 40, also known as the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act, to a full vote on the House floor.
HR 40 would establish an expert reparations commission tasked with studying the legacy of slavery and the ways the failure to address its historical and ongoing harms have entrenched racial disparities in our country. The commission would also report to Congress its findings and recommendations, which may include revisions to federal laws, a scope of restitution, and ways to counteract slavery’s ongoing ill-effects.
We are at a historic moment. This bill has been introduced in every Congress since 1989, and thirty-two years later, on April 14 of last year, the House Judiciary Committee voted to move HR 40 to the House floor for full consideration. Now, we call on leadership to take the next step as they have promised: bring it to a vote.
The effects of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the legal codification of enslavement have persisted through the centuries. The very foundation of this country denied the humanity of Black Americans, which has led to inequities centuries in the making: inequities in wealth, healthcare, housing, employment, education, policing, and more. And each day that passes without national reparations, those systems become more entrenched, the harm compounds, and our country’s promise remains shamefully unfulfilled.
Doing reparations right on a national scale isn’t easy, and HR 40 is the next necessary step to gather the evidence required for creating an informed proposal. That’s why the AHA is proud to be a longtime supporter of HR 40.
