Reparations activists call out Democrat states for using slavery history to fund broader agenda
Reparations activists from a grassroots organization called the US Freedmen Project told Fox News Digital that recent immigrants and non-foundational Black Americans should not be included in government reparations programs.“I also think it’s not morally correct, you know? You don’t give out remedies to people who haven’t experienced the harm,” Annette Wilcox, a spokesperson for the group, told Fox News Digital.“A lot of these policies — the Commission on Racial Equity in the city, the Mayor’s Office on Equity and Justice — they talk constantly about slavery, Jim Crow, redlining, convict leasing.All of those things that happened to a specific group of people,” Wilcox added.
“Then, when it comes time to give out resources and remedies, it’s going to everybody: underserved communities, POC [people of color], immigrants, marginalized groups.You’re using one group of people’s history to then give remedies to a wider group.”The US Freedmen Project, composed of self-identified “Foundational Black Americans,” aims to educate the public on the legal and historical distinctions between African Americans who are direct descendants of enslaved people in the US and those who immigrated to the country voluntarily in recent decades.Wilcox reacted sharply to efforts by New Jersey Democrats pushing the state to consider direct reparations proposals that could include residents who are not direct descendants of enslaved people.The proposed legislation — the Truth, Reconciliation, and Repair Act, spearheaded by Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson and state Sen.
Angela McKnight — aims to address wealth disparities stemming from historical slavery and systemic discrimination.Informed by research from the New Jersey Reparations Council, the bill seeks to establish a framework for state-level reparative policies.US Freedmen Project president Devine Prince told Fox News Digital that lawmakers and certain advocates are “conflating reparations wi...