Ten years ago, the idea of reparations for slavery was still on the political fringes. Now, momentum is growing across the country to enact some type of reparations for Black Americans. This week, that momentum hit one of the wealthiest enclaves of the nation.
On Tuesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a law that creates a panel tasked with investigating reparations and the ongoing harms inflicted upon Black New Yorkers as a result of slavery.
“The battle for civil rights was not below the Mason–Dixon line. The largest port of slave trade was in Charleston, South Carolina and Wall Street, New York,” said Rev. Al Sharpton at the signing ceremony, according to the Associated Press. “So this today starts a process of taking the veil off of northern inequality and saying we must repair the damage and it can be an example for this nation.”
The nine-member panel is tasked with drafting a report along with a list of recommendations for reparations, which could include cash payments or other types of monetary compensation for slavery.
New York City is the wealthiest city in the world, with over 340,000 millionaires calling the metropolitan area home. However, the wealth has not been evenly distributed by a long shot: In New York State, the median white household net worth is $291,250, while the median Black household network is $31,370. That wealth gap is significantly wider than the overall national Black-white wealth gap.
Proponents of reparations argue that they’re necessary to bridge the gap caused by slavery and racist policies in the United States. However, Sharpton noted at the signing that this law was likely to be unpopular with a large swath of New Yorkers.
“I want to give credit to this governor for having the audacity and courage to do what others wouldn’t do. And I know she had to wrestle with it. And I know her political advisors told her it’s too risky,” said Sharpton, according to the AP. “But she did it because it’s right.”