To address the long-lasting, detrimental repercussions of slavery in the state, Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed a measure into law that establishes a commission to study reparations.
It uses the example of similar task groups in California and Illinois and comes at a time when many states and communities around the country are trying to find out how best to grapple with the dark past of the nation.
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“In New York, we like to think we’re on the right side of this. Slavery was a product of the South, the Confederacy,” Democrat Hochul stated during the bill signing event in New York City. “What is hard to embrace is the fact that our state also flourished from that slavery. It’s not a beautiful story, but indeed it is the truth.”
The research panel will investigate the degree to which the federal and state governments backed the institution of slavery following the statute, which was enacted by state legislators in June. It will also examine how New York, which completely outlawed slavery by 1827, participated in the transatlantic slave trade and the legacy of the system on Black New Yorkers to this day.
Rev. Al Sharpton stated during his speech during the signing ceremony, “The battle for civil rights was not below the Mason–Dixon line. The largest port of slave trade was in Charleston, South Carolina and Wall Street, New York.” He continued, “So this today starts a process of taking the veil off of northern inequality and saying we must repair the damage and it can be an example for this nation.”
A report from the nine-member panel must be delivered one year following its inaugural meeting. Although they wouldn’t be legally binding, its recommendations may include financial recompense. Its conclusions are meant to motivate governmental modifications as well as initiatives and programs aimed at mitigating the harm that slavery did to Black New Yorkers.
It’s almost a given that some will object to the idea of using public funds to compensate descendants of slaves. These people may include some white people who feel they shouldn’t have to pay for the sins of their long-ago ancestors as well as other ethnic groups who weren’t involved in the slave trade.
Sharpton that he anticipated Hochul to incur political consequences for calling the commission to order.
“I want to give credit to this governor for having the audacity and courage to do what others wouldn’t do. And I know she had to wrestle with it. And I know her political advisors told her it’s too risky,” The well-known civil rights advocate remarked. “But she did it because it’s right.”
During the event, Hochul and other state legislators emphasized how the procedure will facilitate discussions on potential forms of reparations.
The appointment of three eligible members to the commission will be made by the governor, the leaders of the state Assembly and Senate, and each other. They have ninety days to choose what they want.
Carl Heastie, the Democratic Assembly Speaker and the first Black person to occupy the role stated, “This is not just about who we’re going to write a check to, and what the amount is.”
“It begins the conversation with one recognizing the issues that affected Black people and descendants of slaves in this state,” he noted.
In a statement, State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt expressed his opinion that the suggestions made by New York will come at an “astronomical cost” to every New Yorker.
“The reparations of slavery were paid with the blood and lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans who fought to end slavery during the Civil War,” He stated. He went on to say that it is not feasible for nations to cover the potentially high cost of monetary reparations.
