‘Stain of slavery’: Congress debates reparations to atone for US’s original sin
Democrats are in favor of reparations program, while Republicans denounce idea that past sins can be paid off by today’s taxpayers
For the first time in more than a decade, a debate has taken place between lawmakers in Congress on the original sin of the United States – the enslavement of 4 million Africans and their descendants – and the question of what can be done to atone for it through reparations.
Cory Booker, one of the Democratic presidential candidates who has recently backed reparations as the 2020 election approaches, addressed Wednesday’s hearing. The US senator from New Jersey said: “The stain of slavery was not just inked in bloodshed, but in policies that have disadvantaged African Americans for generations.”