State Sen. James Sanders of Queens has been a leading force behind legislation creating a reparations commission for New York. 'We have to ensure that the real history of America is brought out to the American people.'
But it is an uncertain path, to say the least, with most Americans opposed to reparations. Three in 10 U.S. adults say descendants of enslaved people in the U.S. should be repaid in some way, such as given land or money, according to a 2021 Pew survey. About seven-in-10 say these descendants should not be repaid.
As the New York bill notes, violence and anti-Black racism played out for generations in New York, long after the Civil War ended enslavement. Gothamist recently spoke with Sanders about his reparations bill, which has not yet been signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. The conversation was lightly edited for clarity.Well, remember, [legislative] session just ended. The governor has 900 bills sitting on her desk, and she has until December the 31st to sign it. I'm getting indications they're taking it serious enough, and that we will be in conversation soon enough. So I feel good about the prospects.
Well, there's a lot of hidden history in America. A history which, incidentally, certain governors don't want to come out. And they're going to make it even harder to find out true American history, the good and the bad. These are not things that have been taught on a regular basis in a sustained fashion. So people have the right to be ignorant, if you wish, because they were never taught. And that is part of what we have to do.
A lot of people think reparations necessarily means cash payments. Do you think there are important alternatives to cash that the public needs to be considering?
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