Rep. Cori Bush proposes $14T reparations resolution.

Rep. Cori Bush Calls for $14 Trillion in Reparations for Slavery

On May 17, Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) introduced a resolution that demands $14 trillion in reparations for the U.S. history of slavery. This resolution aims to raise awareness about H.R. 40, a measure that has been introduced in every Congress for decades. H.R. 40 would establish a federal commission to study the issue of slavery reparations. The resolution states that “the United States has a moral and legal obligation to provide reparations for the enslavement of Africans and its lasting harm on the lives of millions of Black people in the United States.”

Co-Sponsors of the Resolution

• Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.)
• Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)
• Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.)
• Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.)
• Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.)
• Summer Lee (D-Pa.)
• Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)
• Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.)
• Al Green (D-Texas)

“Black people in our country cannot wait any longer for our government to begin addressing each and every one of the extraordinary bits of harm, all of the harm it has caused since the founding that it continues to perpetuate each and every day all across our communities, all across this country,” said Bush at a May 17 news conference.

“When the black-white wealth gap is $14 trillion, it’s unjust and it wouldn’t happen in a just and fair and equitable society,” she added. “Those are not the natural consequences of human society, none of that. They are directly caused by our federal government’s role in the enslavement and exploitation of Africans.”

It’s time for the U.S. government to take responsibility for the harm caused by slavery and work towards reparations. Let’s support Rep. Cori Bush and her co-sponsors in their efforts to create a more just and equitable society.