Reparations Daily (ish) Vol. 50
#ReparationsNow: A Week of Action for Reparations
Happy Tuesday, and welcome to the 50th edition of Reparations Daily (ish)!
To celebrate, we launched our Twitter handle, ReparationsIsh. Our Twitter profile will serve as an extension of the newsletter, where we hope to bring reparations-related news to the array of audiences that occupy the Twitterverse. So if you’re on Twitter, give us a follow, please!
This week, the H.R. 40 ReparationsNow Coalition is hosting a week of action to urge congressional leadership to bring H.R. 40 onto the House Floor. Currently, the bill has its most co-sponsors to date with 194, with an additional 14 yes commitments, according to Human Rights Watch.
The coalition is asking those supportive of the reparations movement to support in various ways:
Send an email directly to House Leadership urging them to hold a vote on HR 40.
Use Human Rights Watch’s social media toolkit to put pressure on House Leadership.
The Nikkei Center for Civil Rights & Redress, San Jose Nikkei Resisters, Japanese American Citizens League National and Tsuru Solidarity will be hosting email and phone banking sessions on Wednesday, November 10. Register to participate here.
Join the Fund for Reparations Now! and Reparations 4 Slavery on Thursday, November 11, for a phone and email “zap” session supporting H.R. 40. There are four sessions at 10:00 am ET, 12:00 pm ET, 2:00 pm ET, and 4:00 pm ET (click specific time to register).
Make calls through the Capitol Switchboard (202)-225-3121) for the 16 remaining Democrat holdouts and urge them to co-sponsor HR 40 and commit to voting yes when the bill comes to the House floor for a vote. A list of holdouts include:
Speaker Pelosi (CA)
Rep. Angie Craig (MN)
Rep. Sharice Davids (KS)
Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (TX)
Rep. Jared Golden (ME)
Rep. Ron Kind (WI)
Rep. Conor Lamb (PA)
Rep. Susie Lee (NV)
Rep. Elaine Luria (VA)
Rep. Stephanie Murphy (FL)
Rep. Tom O’Halleran (AZ)
Rep. Kurt Schrader (OR)
Rep. Kim Schrier (WA)
Rep. Abigail Spanberger
Rep. Matthew Cartwright (PA)
Rep. Bill Pascrell (NJ)
In the news, there were a few articles that I’d recommend checking out:
Two weeks ago, reparations organizers hosted a town hall to discuss the state of HR 40. You can watch the recording of the live stream here.
More than 500 applicants applied to the Restorative Housing grant program, according to the Evanston RoundTable before the deadline for applications last Friday.
Last Friday, Congress passed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure & Jobs Investment Act, delivering $550 billion to our infrastructure (bridges, roads, water, broadband, etc.) over the next five years. Yesterday, in a press briefing, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg described how structural racism constructed our highways and underpasses specifically to keep neighborhoods segregated. This Washington Post analysis describes the importance of that framing.
According to MarketWatch, Macy’s announced some new benefits to employees yesterday — increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour, a debt-free education benefit, and great flexibility in taking time off.
Have any of the articles in this newsletter resonated with you? If so, I’m asking that you share on social media with the hashtag #reparationsnow.
With radical love,
Trevor
National News
Washington Post: And this is why it’s useful to talk about historical examples of institutionalized racism
New York Times: Bans on Critical Race Theory Threaten Free Speech, Advocacy Group Says
Marketwatch: Macy's to raise minimum wage to $15 an hour, offer debt-free education to all workers starting next year
MSNBC: Critical race theory panic is largely about white parents holding on to mythologies
Washington Post: Democrats can win the debate over critical race theory. Here’s how.
Business Insider: Congress can't cancel student debt right now because of 'partisanship,' Chuck Schumer says — but Biden can
Market Realist: Dozens Fall Victim To Fake Report of Elon Musk Donating Billions for Reparations
MSNBC: Native American History month highlights lack of education on Indigenous history
NBC: Colin Kaepernick's NFL slavery comments on Netflix made waves. Good.
Mother Jones: Nearly 100 Confederate Monuments Were Toppled Last Year. What Happened to Them?
Washington Post: Howard should listen to its student protesters. They could be our next great Black leaders.
Local News
Evanston Roundtable: More than 500 applications for Restorative Housing grants expected; staff reviewing reparations paperwork
ABC 7: Hundreds of people have applied for Evanston's 1st reparations initiative
Citizen Times: Asheville, Evanston, Tulsa reparations leaders call for Black census, grassroots movements
Fox KTVU: Oakland names its 1st street after Native American
KCUR: Johnson County is named after a major pro-slavery advocate. A new proposal would change that
Washington Post: Three Black soldiers executed by Confederates are finally being honored in Virginia
International News
The Guardian: Never mind aid, never mind loans: what poor nations are owed is reparations
New York Times: Torn From Parents in the Belgian Congo, Women Seek Reparations