(New York) Following the state of California, where the idea of financial reparations to compensate for the legacy of slavery and racism among African Americans is gaining popularity, the state of New York will in turn consider this delicate and controversial issue, a question of democracy, the governor announced on Tuesday.
“In New York, we like to think we are on the right side of history, that slavery was a creation of the South and the Confederacy,” said Gov. Kathy Hochul, the fourth-most populous state in the United States. population) which includes greater New York City and more rural areas up to the border with Canada.
But his press release asserts that “before the American Revolution (1776), the number of enslaved Africans in New York City was greater than in any other city, except Charleston, South Carolina, and the population of enslaved Africans was as high as 20 persons.” % of New York’s population. These slaves could be employed as servants or in construction in New York.
By signing a new law adopted by the local parliament last June, Kathy Hochul gave the green light to create an expert committee responsible for “studying the legacy of slavery and subsequent discrimination against people of African descent” and its continuing impact. , for example, regarding access to housing, education or imprisonment, confirms an official press release.
While slavery was abolished in New York State in 1827, prior to federal abolition in the United States (1865), it “was an integral part of the development of New York State” and “its consequences.” […] The state adds that it can still be observed today.
The commission’s mission is, no later than one year after its first meeting, to submit proposals for “actions to address these long-standing inequalities.”
California, firmly entrenched on the left, was the first US state to establish such a commission after the wave of anti-racism demonstrations caused by the death of George Floyd, an African American killed by police in Minneapolis in 2020. His report, submitted last June, recommended that the state By paying financial compensation to communities affected by this discrimination.
Last March, the city of San Francisco, still in the state of California, was the scene of intense controversy after the presentation before the city council of a “reparations” plan to compensate for the legacy of systemic racism, which proposed giving five million dollars to the citizens of San Francisco. Every African American in the city. A “ridiculous” and unrealistic project from a budget point of view, according to the local Republican opposition.
