{"id":2637965,"date":"2026-07-30T16:40:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T20:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-mamdani-is-open-to-forcing-new-yorkers-to-pay-cash-reparations-for-slavery-says-we-were-very-complicit\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T16:41:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T20:41:56","slug":"watch-mamdani-is-open-to-forcing-new-yorkers-to-pay-cash-reparations-for-slavery-says-we-were-very-complicit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-mamdani-is-open-to-forcing-new-yorkers-to-pay-cash-reparations-for-slavery-says-we-were-very-complicit\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch: Mamdani Is Open to Forcing New Yorkers to Pay Cash Reparations for Slavery, Says &#8216;We Were Very Complicit&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwatch-mamdani-is-open-to-forcing-new-yorkers-to-pay-cash-reparations-for-slavery-says-we-were-very-complicit%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2637965&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the potential for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to issue cash reparations to the descendants of slaves if a city commission advises in favor of such measures. Mamdani acknowledged the cityS historical involvement in the slave trade and its legacy of racial discrimination, emphasizing the importance of recognizing this history. While he did not commit to immediate reparations, he expressed openness to the findings of ongoing investigations.<\/p>\n<p>The piece also highlights broader historical efforts to abolish slavery in the united States, noting actions taken by the Founders, Pennsylvania, and other states, as well as the eventual emancipation following the Civil War. It mentions Evanston, Illinois, as the first city to implement reparations for Black residents, though facing legal challenges citing racial discrimination and constitutional concerns under the 14th Amendment\u2019s Equal Protection Clause.<\/p>\n<p>The article emphasizes constitutional limitations on race-based reparations, suggesting that any attempt to distribute reparations based on race could be challenged and possibly overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. it discusses the complex intersection of historical justice, legal constraints, and ongoing debates about reparations in America.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>New York City socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani would not rule out issuing cash reparations for the descendants of slaves living in the Big Apple, should a city commission currently reviewing the matter decide in favor of it.<\/p>\n<p>The Root\u2019s Charles M. Blow, in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=t1h4zB93rzQ&#038;t=729s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">podcast<\/a> episode released this week, read, in part, a written statement then-mayoral candidate Mamdani had submitted to one of those groups studying the issue, saying, \u201cNew York City participated actively in the slave trade and furthered its legacy through racist institutions, policies and laws. The city should reconcile and repair this legacy of slavery, stolen wealth and discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blow noted one of the commission\u2019s findings is due out next summer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf a commission studying reparations in this city recommended cash reparations for people impacted by slavery in New York City, would you support that recommendation? he asked.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mamdani-gets-reality-check-lawyers-vow-arrest-netanyahu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mamdani<\/a> responded that he stood by his statement made as a candidate: \u201cIt\u2019s the truth; it\u2019s not a personal assessment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe often think about slavery and the complicity in slavery as being exclusively to certain geographic areas of the country. Here in New York City, we were very complicit, and so I look forward to whatever those findings are,\u201d the mayor elaborated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t give you an answer in advance of them, but I can tell you that this is critically important, because this is also what it looks like to acknowledge what history truly was,\u201d Mamdani added.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/t1h4zB93rzQ?si=6gTO5Nzt4FxE2ywp&#038;start=729\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>As I argued on a recent Western Journal podcast and in the new edition of my book \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0H6GH4VPN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">We Hold These Truths<\/a>,\u201d about the influence of the beliefs found in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/two-beliefs-declaration-independence-changed-america-world\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Declaration of Independence<\/a> throughout U.S. history, America\u2019s record regarding slavery is actually commendable when measured against the backdrop of human history.<\/p>\n<p>The Founders took the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/smithsonians-american-history-museum-engages-extreme-political-activism-new-white-house-report-concludes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">first steps<\/a> in the modern era to bring an end to the institution, which had gone on for thousands of years and lamentably continues in the world to this day.<\/p>\n<p>Pennsylvania voted to end slavery during the Revolutionary War in 1780, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/founders-likely-built-famous-phrase-declaration-independence-christian-sermon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Benjamin Franklin<\/a>, a former slave owner, became the president of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, whose mission was to have other states follow Pennsylvania\u2019s lead.<\/p>\n<p>By 1804, during President Thomas Jefferson\u2019s first term, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thirteen.org\/wnet\/slavery\/experience\/freedom\/history.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">all the states north<\/a> of Maryland had voted to phase out or end slavery. Again, it should be noted that no other governments around the world were doing so at this time, including the former mother country, Great Britain, which did not outlaw slavery in its empire <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Slavery-Abolition-Act\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">until 1833.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The founders also banned slavery in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/founders-sought-perfect-union-unleashed-unprecedented-liberty-process\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Northwest Territory<\/a> in 1787 \u2014 preventing slavery from spreading to the future states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin \u2014 and made provision in the Constitution for ending the importation of African slaves, but not sooner than 1808 as a compromise with the Southern states.<\/p>\n<p>In March 1807, President Thomas Jefferson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/110\/plaws\/publ183\/PLAW-110publ183.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">signed<\/a> the legislation into law so it could take effect on the earliest possible date, Jan. 1, 1808. The U.S. later fought the Civil War in the 1860s, which resulted in the emancipation of all the slaves, making it among the first nations in the world to do so.<\/p>\n<p>I go into more of this history in my book and in the podcast below.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0PHL8YkayPs?si=aZRL1AJGcsr5DRwz&#038;start=1904\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/city-becomes-first-us-officially-institute-reparations-black-residents\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Evanston, Illinois,<\/a> is the first city in the U.S. to enact reparations for its black residents, but the move has run into some legal challenges.<\/p>\n<p>ABC affiliate <a href=\"https:\/\/abc7chicago.com\/post\/donald-trump-administration-department-justice-seeks-halt-evanston-reparations-program\/19312433\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> WLS-TV<\/a> reported last month that six non-black residents sued to block the city from paying $25,000 in reparations for 20th-century race-based housing discrimination.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe city has already distributed over $7 million \u2014 using revenue from a local tax on legal marijuana sales \u2014 to hundreds of people in $25,000 increments to be used for home repairs, down payments on property, and interest or late penalties on property in the city,\u201d the news outlet said.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump Justice Department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/us-justice-department-moves-intervene-race-discrimination-lawsuit-challenging-reparations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">intervened<\/a> in the suit last month, describing the program as \u201cracially discriminatory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Assistant Attorney General <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/coffee-shop-in-nyc-in-full-retreat-after-hateful-attack-on-jewish-congressman-backfires-in-every-way-possible\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Harmeet K. Dhillon<\/a> of the DOJ\u2019s Civil Rights Division <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/us-justice-department-moves-intervene-race-discrimination-lawsuit-challenging-reparations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a>, \u201cThere are sound ways for a city to remedy past discrimination or direct resources to its most vulnerable citizens and neighborhoods. Simply handing out money based on race, however, is not the answer. It is race discrimination, pure and simple. And it is illegal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros for the Northern District of Illinois added, \u201cThe Constitution demands that the government treat citizens as individuals, not as members of a racial class. Distributing public funds based on an individual\u2019s ancestry or race divides the citizenry and establishes the very hierarchy the Equal Protection Clause was designed to dismantle.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">If Mamdani would like me, a white New Yorker who never owned slaves, to pay a black New Yorker who never was a slave, then I propose:<\/p>\n<p>Every Muslim in NYC starting with Mamdani, should pay us for 9\/11.<\/p>\n<p>Please explain why the latter makes no sense but the former does. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wvPF9CFvEC\">pic.twitter.com\/wvPF9CFvEC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Shabbos Kestenbaum (@ShabbosK) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ShabbosK\/status\/2082342593120424107?\">July 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archives.gov\/milestone-documents\/14th-amendment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">14th Amendment\u2019s Equal Protection Clause,<\/a> ratified in 1868, immediately following the Civil War, provides that no state [or local government] shall \u201cdeny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So if Mamdani were to go forward with trying to pay reparations, expect there will be a Constitutional challenge that will likely make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. And if the justices rule in fidelity with the Constitution, reparations will be struck down.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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