Tom Lasseter
Wed, December 20, 2023
Congressional Gold Medal ceremony posthumously honoring Major League Baseball player, civil rights activist and World War II veteran, Lawrence Eugene “Larry” Doby, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington
By Tom Lasseter
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It was one of the first moments in the Washington spotlight for junior congressman Mike Johnson. In 2019, the Republican from Louisiana was the ranking member of a U.S. House subcommittee discussing the controversial subject of slavery reparations.
Johnson told the panel he opposed taking money “from current taxpayers for the sins of a small subset of Americans from many generations ago.” To highlight the point, he shared a personal story.
“I actually have a much older son who happens to be African American,” Johnson explained. The lawmaker and his wife, who are white, “took custody of Michael and made him part of our family 22 years ago when we were just newlyweds, and Michael was just 14 and out on the streets and nowhere to go and on a very dangerous path.”
Ahead of the hearing, the congressman said, he had asked Michael “what he thinks about the idea of reparations. In a very thoughtful way, he explained his opposition,” Johnson said, without saying specifically what Michael had said.
Johnson, who in October was voted speaker of the House, had another personal tie to the issue of reparations: At least three of his direct ancestors were slaveholders. Johnson’s ancestral ties to slavery have not been previously reported.
A Reuters review of his lineage shows that one Johnson forebear, Honore Fredieu, enslaved 14 Black people in Natchitoches, Louisiana, in 1860. Among those listed on that year’s census is a pair of 1-year-old girls whom he enslaved.
Another Johnson ancestor, Amedee Rachal, enslaved four people just a few households away, the 1860 records show. Each of those slaveholders was a great-great-great-great-grandfather of Johnson; their children married each other.
Earlier, in 1830, Amedee Rachal’s father, Cyprian Rachal, enslaved 10 people.
In addition to Johnson — who as House speaker holds one of the most powerful positions in U.S. government — a Reuters examination of slavery and America’s political elite found some of the most influential politicians of today descend from slaveholders. They include President Joe Biden, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and two of the nine sitting U.S. Supreme Court justices – Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch.
Among members of the last sitting Congress, Reuters found at least 100 lawmakers whose forebears were slaveholders in America. For most, including Johnson, it was the first time those connections to slavery have been publicly explored.
A spokesperson for Johnson’s office, Taylor Haulsee, sent a statement for this story: “As has been well-documented, the horrific legacy of slavery touches the ancestry of political leaders across the spectrum, including Presidents Biden and Obama. But the actions of people who lived hundreds of years ago do not have any bearing on the Speaker’s lifelong work for a colorblind society.”
Former President Barack Obama descends from a slaveholder through his white mother’s side of the family.
During an earlier review, Reuters examined a different Johnson ancestor as a possible slaveholder but could not determine if the ancestral link was sound. Johnson’s relationship to Fredieu and the Rachal family came to light when a genealogist working with Reuters examined other branches of the Johnson family tree after Johnson ascended to the speakership.
As with other political leaders, Reuters made clear in a letter describing the project to Johnson that it was not suggesting they were “personally responsible for the actions of ancestors who lived 160 or more years ago.”
Americans are divided on the issue of reparations. A Reuters/Ipsos survey published earlier this year found that slightly more than half of respondents identifying as Democrats – 58% – support reparations. Just 18% of Republicans do. The split is even greater between Black and white Americans. The poll found that 74% of Black Americans favor reparations compared to 26% of white Americans.
Reuters was unable to reach the man whom the Johnsons took into their family as a teenager. In an interview published last month, the Daily Mail identified him as Michael James. The publication quoted James as saying that, “If the Johnsons hadn’t taken me in as a teenager, my life would look very different today. I would probably be in prison or I might not have made it at all.” James added: “I always felt loved like I was a part of their family.”
Johnson's office has in the past confirmed that he did not legally adopt Michael James because of the lengthy process involved.
Public records show a man by that name, who is approximately 40 years old, living in Los Angeles County, California. There was no response to phone calls and an email from Reuters to the number and address listed for him.
On matters of race, Johnson has at least twice publicly invoked Michael. During the 2019 reparations hearing, Johnson said he had “walked with him through discrimination that he has had to endure over the years and the hurdles he sometimes faced.”
Johnson also mentioned Michael the next year, during an interview on PBS that took place weeks after George Floyd, a Black man, was killed by Minneapolis police. Floyd’s killing set off protests in cities across America. “It was an act of murder,” Johnson said.
In the PBS interview, Johnson compared Michael’s life with that of the congressman’s son Jack, who is white and was 14 at the time.
“The reality is — and no one can tell me otherwise — my son Michael had a harder time than my son Jack is going to have simply because of the color of his skin,” Johnson said. “And that’s a reality. It’s an uncomfortable, painful one to acknowledge, but people have to recognize that’s a fact.”
(Reporting By Tom Lasseter. Edited by Blake Morrison.)
New York launches commission to consider racial reparations
Reuters
Tue, December 19, 2023
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul in Albany, New York
(Reuters) - New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday authorized a commission to consider reparations for the state's role in perpetuating historic discrimination against African Americans, making New York the second U.S. state to launch such an effort.
The state will not be required to follow the recommendations of the commission. New York lawmakers and civil rights activists who attended Hochul's signing ceremony at the New York Historical Society in Manhattan hailed it as a key step toward confronting the state's legacy of slavery and resulting racial gaps in wealth, housing, employment and criminal justice.
"It doesn't mean fixing the past, undoing what happened," Hochul said at the signing ceremony, "but it does mean more than giving people a simple apology 150 years later."
She cited recent anti-Black hate crimes in New York that she said showed "white supremacy is alive and well."
There has been a nationwide surge in efforts to reckon with slavery's impact and institutional racism. Public opinion is sharply split across racial and political lines on the subject of reparations.
Reverend Al Sharpton, speaking at Tuesday's signing ceremony, said he knew some would wrongly interpret the commission as Hochul giving Black activists "a check for billions of dollars," but said it should be seen as the start of a healing process.
Slavery officially ended in New York in 1827. Later, policing and judicial practices, housing discrimination, and school segregation perpetuated the state's racial wealth gap, leaving it greater than that of the U.S. as a whole, according to a Dec. 6 report by the state's comptroller.
The median net worth of white households in New York is $276,900, nearly 15 times greater than Black households in the state, which have a median net worth of $18,870. The ratio between median white and Black household net worth across the U.S. is 9 to 3.
The first U.S. state task force to research and develop reparation proposals for African Americans was launched in California in 2020.
In June, that group released recommendations for policy reforms and proposed formulas the California state legislature could use to calculate financial compensation for descendants of Black people whose ancestors were in the United States in the 19th century. The formulas are based on historic discrimination in housing, wages, and other areas.
(Reporting by Julia Harte; editing by Donna Bryson and David Gregorio)
New York To Study Potential Reparations Under Newly Signed Bill
Christopher Rhodes
Wed, December 20, 2023
New York To Study Potential Reparations Under Newly Signed Bill | Photo: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
On Tuesday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law that moves forward the process of reparations in the state. The new legislation creates a reparations commission for New York to explore policies that could be implemented in the state to address the long legacy of slavery and racial disparities.
During the signing ceremony, the Democratic governor spoke about the difficult truth of slavery in New York’s history, acknowledging, “Our state flourished from that slavery,” adding, “It’s not a beautiful story, but indeed it is the truth.” Having owned up to the legacy that slavery had in New York, Hochul went on to call on the state’s residents “to be the patriots and rebuke and not excuse our role in benefitting from the institution of slavery.”
The Rev. Al Sharpton was in attendance as Hochul signed the bill into law, telling those gathered, “You cannot heal unless you deal with the wounds” of slavery, adding that “This bill will put a commission together to be healing the wounds.” Sharpton touted the creation of the commission as a momentous development. “Only those that have seen people marginalized for even raising the issue can understand the historic significance of today,” he said.
The creation of the reparations commission comes at a key historical anniversary. As 1619 Project founder Nikole Hannah-Jones noted in a tweet, 2024 will mark the 400th anniversary of the beginning of slavery in what is now New York state.
As reported by The New York Times, the newly signed bill authorizes the governor and the New York State Legislature to appoint nine people to the new task force, which will examine the impact of not only slavery, which legally existed in New York from 1624 until 1827, but also later injustices such as mass incarceration and housing discrimination. The task force will deliver a report with recommended remedies, which the state government can accept, reject or modify. The governor has acknowledged budgetary concerns that could limit the resources available for a reparations policy. Additionally, Republican New York Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt has signaled opposition to a reparations plan.
Despite potential obstacles, New York is moving forward as the third state to create a reparations commission, following in the footsteps of California and Illinois. Other efforts have happened at a city level in locations such as Evan, Illinois, which has implemented reparations policies through housing grants, and San Francisco, which has suggested large cash payments to eligible Black residents. And other cities, such as Atlanta, are also beginning to explore reparations options.
With this momentum at the state and local level, New York’s creation of its reparations committee marks the latest step forward in the long push for reparations. While much work remains in the face of potential roadblocks, New York is poised to acknowledge and seek to redress, finally, the long legacy of slavery and racism in the state.
Reuters
Tue, December 19, 2023
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul in Albany, New York
(Reuters) - New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday authorized a commission to consider reparations for the state's role in perpetuating historic discrimination against African Americans, making New York the second U.S. state to launch such an effort.
The state will not be required to follow the recommendations of the commission. New York lawmakers and civil rights activists who attended Hochul's signing ceremony at the New York Historical Society in Manhattan hailed it as a key step toward confronting the state's legacy of slavery and resulting racial gaps in wealth, housing, employment and criminal justice.
"It doesn't mean fixing the past, undoing what happened," Hochul said at the signing ceremony, "but it does mean more than giving people a simple apology 150 years later."
She cited recent anti-Black hate crimes in New York that she said showed "white supremacy is alive and well."
There has been a nationwide surge in efforts to reckon with slavery's impact and institutional racism. Public opinion is sharply split across racial and political lines on the subject of reparations.
Reverend Al Sharpton, speaking at Tuesday's signing ceremony, said he knew some would wrongly interpret the commission as Hochul giving Black activists "a check for billions of dollars," but said it should be seen as the start of a healing process.
Slavery officially ended in New York in 1827. Later, policing and judicial practices, housing discrimination, and school segregation perpetuated the state's racial wealth gap, leaving it greater than that of the U.S. as a whole, according to a Dec. 6 report by the state's comptroller.
The median net worth of white households in New York is $276,900, nearly 15 times greater than Black households in the state, which have a median net worth of $18,870. The ratio between median white and Black household net worth across the U.S. is 9 to 3.
The first U.S. state task force to research and develop reparation proposals for African Americans was launched in California in 2020.
In June, that group released recommendations for policy reforms and proposed formulas the California state legislature could use to calculate financial compensation for descendants of Black people whose ancestors were in the United States in the 19th century. The formulas are based on historic discrimination in housing, wages, and other areas.
(Reporting by Julia Harte; editing by Donna Bryson and David Gregorio)
New York To Study Potential Reparations Under Newly Signed Bill
Christopher Rhodes
Wed, December 20, 2023
New York To Study Potential Reparations Under Newly Signed Bill | Photo: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
On Tuesday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law that moves forward the process of reparations in the state. The new legislation creates a reparations commission for New York to explore policies that could be implemented in the state to address the long legacy of slavery and racial disparities.
During the signing ceremony, the Democratic governor spoke about the difficult truth of slavery in New York’s history, acknowledging, “Our state flourished from that slavery,” adding, “It’s not a beautiful story, but indeed it is the truth.” Having owned up to the legacy that slavery had in New York, Hochul went on to call on the state’s residents “to be the patriots and rebuke and not excuse our role in benefitting from the institution of slavery.”
The Rev. Al Sharpton was in attendance as Hochul signed the bill into law, telling those gathered, “You cannot heal unless you deal with the wounds” of slavery, adding that “This bill will put a commission together to be healing the wounds.” Sharpton touted the creation of the commission as a momentous development. “Only those that have seen people marginalized for even raising the issue can understand the historic significance of today,” he said.
The creation of the reparations commission comes at a key historical anniversary. As 1619 Project founder Nikole Hannah-Jones noted in a tweet, 2024 will mark the 400th anniversary of the beginning of slavery in what is now New York state.
As reported by The New York Times, the newly signed bill authorizes the governor and the New York State Legislature to appoint nine people to the new task force, which will examine the impact of not only slavery, which legally existed in New York from 1624 until 1827, but also later injustices such as mass incarceration and housing discrimination. The task force will deliver a report with recommended remedies, which the state government can accept, reject or modify. The governor has acknowledged budgetary concerns that could limit the resources available for a reparations policy. Additionally, Republican New York Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt has signaled opposition to a reparations plan.
Despite potential obstacles, New York is moving forward as the third state to create a reparations commission, following in the footsteps of California and Illinois. Other efforts have happened at a city level in locations such as Evan, Illinois, which has implemented reparations policies through housing grants, and San Francisco, which has suggested large cash payments to eligible Black residents. And other cities, such as Atlanta, are also beginning to explore reparations options.
With this momentum at the state and local level, New York’s creation of its reparations committee marks the latest step forward in the long push for reparations. While much work remains in the face of potential roadblocks, New York is poised to acknowledge and seek to redress, finally, the long legacy of slavery and racism in the state.
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