D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At Large), in his capacity as chair of the Committee on Business and Economic Development, convened a hearing on his bill that would consider reparations for African Americans in the District on June 16.
The hearing took place at the John A. Wilson Building in Northwest. McDuffie, an independent, said his legislation, The Reparations Foundation Fund and Task Force Establishment Act of 2023, will start the process of repairing the damage that the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow laws in the nation’s capital has heaped upon African Americans.
“We do not live in a post racial society, and racial equality has not been achieved,” said McDuffie, 48, in his Feb. 24 letter to the secretary of the Council on the legislation. “If ever we are to achieve racial equity in this country, it will require an official recognition of the role of government-sanctioned slavery, segregation, and racism that denied wealth-building opportunities to Black people. We must be intentional in our efforts so that Black people might finally be compensated for their ancestors’ labor and for the continuing effects of policies and systems designed to suppress their potential to build wealth.”
McDuffie’s efforts are part of a national movement in cities and states to consider financial and societal remedies for the descendants of African Americans who were enslaved. He pointed out in his opening statement at the hearing that the typical white household has 81 times more wealth than the normal Black household in the District; the nation’s widest gap. With his bill, McDuffie said “I picked up the baton of freedom and equality, considering this bill ahead of the Juneteenth weekend.”
Specifics of McDuffie’s bill
McDuffie’s legislation would establish a nine-member Reparations Task Force to study and develop reparations proposals for District Blacks. It would require the Commissioner of the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking to establish a slavery database of records relating to slaveholding which will eventually be made available to the task force to aid in its study of reparations proposals. Plus, the bill would establish a reparations foundation to be used for the payments of reparations under a program set up pursuant to the findings and recommendations of the task force.
The task force will be responsible for submitting a written report of its findings and recommendations to the mayor and council no later than one year after the date of the first meeting. The bill stipulates the task force shall sunset after December 31, 2025, or after the report has been submitted.
Additionally, the legislation gives the task force a wide range of powers such as the ability to use the D.C. Superior Court to compel testimony or comply with a subpoena.
The bill has the support of Council members Trayon White Sr., (D-Ward 8), Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1), Lewis George (D-Ward 4), Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7), Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), Robert White (D-At Large), Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) and Anita Bonds (D-At Large).
The Hearing
The hearing had 128 public witnesses. It lasted eight and a half hours, with witnesses limited to three minutes to deliver their testimony. No members of McDuffie’s committee made an appearance on the dais at the hearing.
One of the first witnesses was Evanston, Illinois, Council member Devon Reid, who represents that city’s Ward 8. Reid noted Evanston’s historic role in the reparation’s movement.
“We were the first city in the nation to create a reparations program for African Americans,” said Reid, 30. “We honed in on housing, but I encourage D.C. to look at the totality of their program. D.C. should look at policing and how slavery specifically impacted the city.”
Reid said the reparations program was paid for by Evanston’s cannabis sales tax and its real estate transfer tax.
Claire McFarland Barber, a leader of the Evanston Reparations Committee, said the District should aim for a local reparations program instead of following a national model.
“It can be tailored to the local community and should include housing, economic development and education,” she said.
Kamilah Moore is a member of the California reparations task force. McDuffie said California’s task force serves as the model for the District. Moore urged McDuffie to make sure that reparations are based not on race but lineage.
“A race-based solution could be struck down in court,” she said.
Nkechi Taifa, a District attorney who is active with the local and national reparations movement, reminded McDuffie that efforts to compensate the descendants of District slaves didn’t start with him.
“It was D.C. Council member Wilhelmina Rolark that sponsored a bill in 1990 to study reparations here in D.C.,” said Taifa. “D.C. should be given credit as the first major city to deal with reparations because of Rolark’s bill. But I am happy that his hearing is taking place. Reparations for Black people are very likely a reality and achievable within our lifetime.”
