Slavery is a significant part of the United States history with an impact that is still felt through communities over 400 years later. Reparations for descendants of enslaved African Americans have been an ongoing conversation at a federal level since the ’80s. It wasn’t until 2019 that reparations for descendants of enslaved Africans in Pennsylvania became a topic of discussion on a state level.
Pennsylvania was the first state to take action to end slavery even before it entered the State of the Union in 1787. However, this did not wholly end slavery, and slaves still existed until the mid-1800s. Lawmakers are now looking for ways to atone for what is called “America’s First Sin.”
Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb introduced a bill in 2019 that established a state-level reparations plan for Pennsylvania residents of African descent.
The bill outlines a state-based reparations plan that would have four parts:
- A formal apology from the Pennsylvania General Assembly for its complicity in treating people of African descent during and after the gradual abolition of slavery began in 1780.
- The creation of a commission to determine a methodology to quantify the financial impact of past and current laws, court decisions, government programs, and practices that have systematically disadvantaged African-Americans.
- Acknowledge that chronic poverty and other inequities are the direct results of racist public policy enacted into state and federal laws.
- Provide significant financial redress to African-American residents of Pennsylvania.
The bill is not looking to offer cash payments specifically but will mostly rely on tax credits to address public safety, education, or health, among other topics. As of now, there have not been any reparations made in Pennsylvania. However, some subcommittees have been delegated the responsibility of detailing how reparations would impact the state and the descendants of enslaved Africans.
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