Reparations & HR 40

 


The BRaxton Institute is a proud signatory to HR 40, a commission to study and devleop reparations proposals.

 

HR 40 is a bill that was introduced in Congress on January 4, 2021. “This bill establishes the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans. The commission shall examine slavery and discrimination in the colonies and the United States from 1619 to the present and recommend appropriate remedies.”

The commission will consider: “(1) The role of the federal and state governments in supporting the institution of slavery, (2) forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors against freed slaves and their descendants, and (3) lingering negative effects of slavery on living African Americans and society.”

Compiling extensive evidence and documentation of slavery in the United States, systemic racism, and the ongoing impacts of these areas on African Americans today, the commission will present the information to Congress and provide recommendations on ways to share this information with the American public. Finally, the commission will present reparations proposals that may include policy recommendations, economic compensation, national apology responses from the United States government and/or other recommendations as determined by the commission.

 

In addition to our support of HR 40, the Braxton Institute has been involved in the following initiatives for Reparations:

  • Elevating public discourse on Reparations through the Braxton Institute’s Dialogues on Resisting and Thriving

  • Creating safe, reflective space for minoritized teaching professionals at risk in higher education for their advocacy of Reparations, critical theory, and racial justice

  • Teaching and lecturing on Reparations and restorative justice in universities, law schools, theological schools, and churches

  • Working with Karran Harper Royal and Descendants of Jesuit Enslavement as they seek healing, repair, and the reunification of Black families separated by the internal slave trade

  • Supporting the Lakeland Community Heritage Project (LCHP) in its determination to gain healing and repair through and from the City of College Park, MD for the harms of urban renewal; continuing to provide support to Lakeland community members and descendants in cultivating inclusive restorative and transformative justice strategies

  • Facilitating dialogue among Black farmers, ministers, activists and long-haul truck drivers advocating for Land Justice

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