Newark Residents Push For Slavery Reparations On Federal, State Levels

NEWARK, NJ — There’s a “reckoning” due in the United States and New Jersey, supporters of slavery reparations in Newark say.

New Jersey’s largest city has been one of the hotbeds of the reparation movement for years. And it continues to be home to many people who say that the nation – and the Garden State – need to atone for one of the darkest chapters of U.S. history.

On the federal level, Sen. Cory Booker – a Newark resident – recently reintroduced a proposed law that would “study the impact of slavery and the continuing discrimination against African-Americans.” It would also make recommendations on reparation proposals for the descendants of slaves.

The bill, S-40, is the Senate companion to H.R. 40, introduced by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, which has seen popular support from many Newark advocates in the past. Read More: Demand For U.S. Slavery Reparations Continues In Newark

“Our nation must reckon with its dark past of slavery and its continued oppression of African-Americans, fueled by white supremacy and racism,” Booker said. “Many of our bedrock domestic policies that have ushered millions of Americans into the middle class have systematically excluded Black individuals.”

“I urge my colleagues to support this bill that will address the institutional racism that has suppressed African-Americans prosperity throughout our history and bring our country one step closer to our founding principles of liberty and justice for all,” Booker said.

Nearly 200 organizations are supporting the bill, the senator noted. The list can be seen here.

REPARATIONS IN NEW JERSEY

Other Newark residents are demanding action on the state level.

In December, the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice (NJISJ) – which is based in Newark – visited the Statehouse in Trenton along with several other advocacy groups to support S-386/A-938, a proposed state law that would to establish a Reparations Task Force in New Jersey.

According to the NJISJ, the task force would be charged with “holding a statewide conversation” about New Jersey’s history of slavery and structural racism, and how it connects to the state’s current racial disparities – some of the worst in the country. Read More: Racial Gaps Still Plague New Jersey, Advocates Say

The task force would also propose strategic policy recommendations to repair the harm, the group said.

“Surprising to some who think of slavery as a southern problem only, New Jersey, which has been called the ‘slave state of the North,’ has deep ties to the institution of slavery and its aftermath,” the NJISJ said.

“In fact, New Jersey was the last northern state to abolish slavery and by 1830, over two-thirds of enslaved people in the North lived in the Garden State,” the group added.

So far, 17 local governments in New Jersey have passed resolutions endorsing the reparations task force bill, according to the NJISJ. They include: Lawrence, West Orange, Highland Park, Jersey City, Orange, East Orange, South Orange, Maplewood, Plainfield, Montclair, Newark, Trenton, Mercer County, Essex County, Atlantic City, Princeton and Red Bank.

MARCHING FOR REPARATIONS IN NEWARK

Meanwhile, activists and community members in Newark continue to hold marches and rallies to push for action on both the federal and state levels.

Last year, Newark advocates spearheaded a rally in support of slavery reparations to kick off the Juneteenth holiday weekend.

The march was co-sponsored by dozens of social justice groups, including the NJISJ and the People's Organization For Progress (POP), which has been holding reparations marches for years in Newark.

• See related: Keep Your Movies And Statues! Give Us Our Reparations Now! (Op-Ed)

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