Black History

Congress Mulls Issue of Reparations on Juneteenth

WASHINGTON INFORMER — More than 150 years ago, enslaved Africans in the state of Texas, among the last in the Confederacy to be freed from physical bondage, received word of their emancipation in what has since been commemorated as Juneteenth, a holiday of great significance to Black people in the United States.

Published

7 years ago

June 23, 2019

Sam P. K. Collins

By Sam P. K. Collins

More than 150 years ago, enslaved Africans in the state of Texas, among the last in the Confederacy to be freed from physical bondage, received word of their emancipation in what has since been commemorated as Juneteenth, a holiday of great significance to Black people in the United States.

This week, as Black people across the southern United States celebrated Juneteenth, members of the U.S. House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties hosted a hearing on House Resolution 40 (H.R. 40), a bill mandating the study of reparations for descendants of enslaved Africans who, to this day, continue to endure the residual effects of chattel slavery, Jim Crow and other manifestations of institutionalized racism.

“The question of slavery, frankly, has never been addressed, particularly from the institutional governmental perspective. And I’ve updated the language of the resolution, H.R. 40 and that is that it is a commission to study and to engage in proposals, recommendations on the question of reparations,” Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas 18th District), sponsor of H.R. 40, told Michel Martin on Sunday during NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

On Wednesday morning, Jackson Lee hosted the hearing for H.R. 40, the first of its kind since 2007, in the Rayburn House Office Building. Veteran actor Danny Glover and author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates were among those scheduled to testify in support of what’s also known as the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act.

Thirty years ago, then-Rep. John Conyers (D-Michigan 13th District) proposed the original H.R. 40 bill to no avail. From that point on, he reintroduced H.R. 40 every year until his retirement in 2017. Within that time, reparations had turned from a late-night television punchline to a serious matter, thanks in part to Coates’ 2014 essay “The Case for Reparations,” a detailed account of how the U.S. government disenfranchised descendants of enslaved Africans and continues to do so, more than a century after the Emancipation Proclamation.

In her NPR interview, Jackson Lee echoed that central theme, saying that the United States wouldn’t have earned its spot as a world power without the exploitation of enslaved Africans and their descendants.

“It really goes to, I think, more people understanding that 40 acres and a mule was a legitimate concept right after the Emancipation Proclamation and that never happened,” Jackson Lee said. “But yet cotton was king. It was an economic engine of the entire United States. And so the prominence of the United States today in the 21st century is grounded on the free brutal labor that Africans gave and their descendants.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has reportedly expressed support for the study of reparations for the descendants of enslaved Africans. On the Senate side, Sen. Cory Booker (New Jersey), a Democratic presidential candidate, introduced accompanying reparations legislation that five of his opponents have co-signed, albeit without any expectation that it would survive Republican opposition.

Reparations has been a prominent topic of discussion among the two dozen Democratic presidential candidates. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro has endorsed the idea, as has Booker and fellow Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), along with former Rep. Beto O’Rourke. Early in her campaign, best-selling author Marianne Williamson proposed $100 billion in reparations to be allocated toward economic and educational projects over a decade.

As stated in the Urban League’s 2018 “State of Black America” report, gaps in homeownership and other facets of a stable life in the U.S., persists between Black and white people. As recently as 2016, the majority of Black people expressed supported the idea of reparations. However, the question remains, among voters and candidates alike, of the shape the recompense would take, whether through a cash payout, tax credits and total restructuring of institutions.

Critics of H.R. 40, including activist and internet talk show host Yvette Carnell, said that the bill doesn’t have the specificity necessary to secure victory that belongs exclusively to African Americans, whom she refers to as American descendants of slavery. During the June 10 edition of her “Breaking Brown” program, Carnell tasked her followers with making demands for what she described as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“If a bill comes out of committee and makes it to the floor, it has to answer several key questions of who it goes to if you’re talking about reparations,” Carnell said. “The introduction has to be specific so it doesn’t get torn apart by committee. They can put it together with bills for Native Americans and other minorities and call it a minority bill. You have to be specific about who American descendants of slavery [are] and the mechanism for redistribution.”

This article originally appeared in the Washington Informer.

Sam P. K. Collins

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COMMENTARY: The National Protest Must Be Accompanied with Our Votes

Just as Trump is gathering election data like having the FBI take all the election data in Georgia from the 2020 election, so must we organize in preparation for the coming primary season to have the right people on ballots in each Republican district, so that we can regain control of the House of Representatives and by doing so, restore the separation of powers and balance that our democracy is being deprived of.

Published

12 hours ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper. File photo..

By Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper

As thousands of Americans march every week in cities across this great nation, it must be remembered that the protest without the vote is of no concern to Donald Trump and his administration.

In every city, there is a personal connection to the U.S. Congress. In too many cases, the member of Congress representing the people of that city and the congressional district in which it sits, is a Republican. It is the Republicans who are giving silent support to the destructive actions of those persons like the U.S. Attorney General, the Director of Homeland Security, and the National Intelligence Director, who are carrying out the revenge campaign of the President rather than upholding the oath of office each of them took “to Defend The Constitution of the United States.”

In California, the primary comes in June 2026. The congressional races must be a priority just as much as the local election of people has been so important in keeping ICE from acquiring facilities to build more prisons around the country.

“We the People” are winning this battle, even though it might not look like it. Each of us must get involved now, right where we are.

In this Black History month, it is important to remember that all we have accomplished in this nation has been “in spite of” and not “because of.” Frederick Douglas said, “Power concedes nothing without a struggle.”

Today, the struggle is to maintain our very institutions and history. Our strength in this struggle rests in our “collectiveness.” Our newspapers and journalists are at the greatest risk. We must not personally add to the attack by ignoring those who have been our very foundation, our Black press.

Are you spending your dollars this Black History Month with those who salute and honor contributions by supporting those who tell our stories? Remember that silence is the same as consent and support for the opposition. Where do you stand and where will your dollars go?

Oakland Post

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Activism

Congresswoman Simon Votes Against Department of Homeland Security, ICE Funding

“They need accountability. Republicans already gave these agencies an unprecedented $170 billion for immigration enforcement, funding they have used to conduct raids at schools, separate families, and deploy a masked paramilitary who refuse to identify themselves on American streets. This bill gives them more funding without a single reform to stop unconstitutional, immoral abuses,” she said.

Published

13 hours ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12). File photo.

By Post Staff

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) released a statement after voting against legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which supports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB).

“Today, I voted NO on legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security through Feb. 13, 2026.

“ICE and CBP do not need more funding to terrorize communities or kill more people,” she said in the media release.

“They need accountability. Republicans already gave these agencies an unprecedented $170 billion for immigration enforcement, funding they have used to conduct raids at schools, separate families, and deploy a masked paramilitary who refuse to identify themselves on American streets. This bill gives them more funding without a single reform to stop unconstitutional, immoral abuses,” she said.

“The American people are demanding change. Poll after poll of Americans’ opinions show overwhelming support for requiring ICE agents to wear body cameras and prohibiting them from hiding their faces during enforcement actions. This is the bare minimum transparency standard, and this funding legislation does not even meet this low bar,” Simon said.

“Republicans in Congress are not serious about reining in these lawless agencies. Their refusal to make meaningful changes to the DHS funding bill has consequences that go beyond immigration enforcement. TSA agents who keep our airports safe and FEMA workers who help our communities recover from disasters are stuck in limbo due to Republican inaction.

“The Constitution does not have an exception for immigrants. Every person on American soil has rights, and federal agencies must respect them. The East Bay has made clear at the Alameda County and city level that we will hold the line against a violent ICE force and support our immigrant communities – I will continue to hold the line and our values with my votes in Congress.”

Oakland Post

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Activism

Post Newspaper Invites NNPA to Join Nationwide Probate Reform Initiative

The Post’s Probate Reform Group meets the first Thursday of every month via Zoom and invites the public to attend. The Post is making the initiative national and will submit information from its monthly meeting to the NNPA to educate, advocate, and inform its readers.

Published

13 hours ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Tanya Dennis

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) represents the Black press with over 200 newspapers nationwide.

Last night the Post announced that it is actively recruiting the Black press to inform the public that there is a probate “five-alarm fire” occurring in Black communities and invited every Black newspaper starting from the Birmingham Times in Alabama to the Milwaukee Times Weekly in Wisconsin, to join the Post in our “Year of Action” for probate reform.

Reporter Tanya Dennis says, “The adage that ‘When America catches a cold, Black folks catch the flu” is too true in practice; that’s why we’re engaging the Black Press to not only warn, but educate the Black community regarding the criminal actions we see in probate court: Thousands are losing generational wealth to strangers. It’s a travesty that happens daily.”

Venus Gist, a co-host of the reform group, states, “ Unfortunately, people are their own worst enemy when it comes to speaking with loved ones regarding their demise. It’s an uncomfortable subject that most avoid, but they do so at their peril. The courts rely on dissention between family members, so I encourage not only a will and trust [be created] but also videotape the reading of your documents so you can show you’re of sound mind.”

In better times, drafting a will was enough; then a trust was an added requirement to ‘iron-clad’ documents and to assure easy transference of wealth.

No longer.

As the courts became underfunded in the last 20 years, predatory behavior emerged to the extent that criminality is now occurring at alarming rates with no oversight, with courts isolating the conserved, and, I’ve heard, many times killing conservatees for profit. Plundering the assets of estates until beneficiaries are penniless is also common.”

Post Newspaper Publisher Paul Cobb says, “The simple solution is to avoid probate at all costs. If beneficiaries can’t agree, hire a private mediator and attorney to work things out. The moment you walk into court, you are vulnerable to the whims of the court. Your will and trust mean nothing.”

Zakiya Jendayi, a co-host of the Probate Reform Group and a victim herself, says, “In my case, the will and trust were clear that I am the beneficiary of the estate, but the opposing attorney said I used undue influence to make myself beneficiary. He said that without proof, and the judge upheld the attorney’s baseless assertion. In court, the will and trust is easily discounted.”

The Black press reaches out to 47 million Black Americans with one voice. The power of the press has never been so important as it is now in this national movement to save Black generational wealth from predatory attorneys, guardians and judges.

The next probate reform meeting is on March 5, from 7 – 9 p.m. PST. Zoom Details:
Meeting ID: 825 0367 1750
Passcode: 475480

All are welcome.